In the last year, the North Summit girls’ basketball team did everything it could to avoid a repeat of last year’s heartbreaking loss in the title game.
The hard work paid off Wednesday night as the Braves whipped up a 65-48 win over Kanab.
“This is an amazing bunch of girls. They don’t quit,” said coach Jerre Holmes. “They were determined tonight to make sure that we didn’t have to come to the crunch and go to overtime.”
“This is an amazing bunch of girls. They don’t quit. They were determined tonight to make sure that we didn’t have to come to the crunch and go to overtime.” — North Summit coach Jerre Holmes
This is Holmes’ first championship as the coach of the girls basketball team. The win quenches a championship drought for the North Summit that has lasted since 1986.
Last year they came about as close as anyone ever could but lost in a triple overtime bout to Millard.
This year was a completely different story as the Braves set the tone early.
Marci Richins went on the attack, netting eight points in the first four minutes of the game. She’d go on to total 30 points against Kanab.
Kanab’s girls fought back, as Grayce Glover fired off a 3-pointer and another shot from inside the arc. Glover would total 28 points throughout the game, with six 3-pointers. Teammate Rylee Anderson zapped the bucket from inside the paint, as did Tyler Nez, who hit a downtowner that gave Kanab a two-point lead.
“Kanab has some great shooters and you’re never out of the woods with them,” Holmes said.
As lethal as Kanab’s girls were from the outside, they had no answer for Brynlee Richins, who took the lead back with an inside shot with less than two minutes to go in the first stanza. Hadley Richins then hit her first of two 3-pointers for the night to push the lead to five.
Marci Richins hit another shot for North Summit before Kanab’s Glover buried her second downtowner of the night to close the first quarter 19-17 in favor of the Braves.
That’s when North Summit dumped the clutch.
The Braves’ defense became stifling in the second quarter, allowing just five points. Meanwhile Marci Richins, Hadley Richins and Sarah Winters went on a scoring spree that widened to gap to 40-22 by the break.
North Summit maintained a comfortable lead through the back half of the game the secure the trophy.
“We had a job to do tonight and that was not to repeat last year,” Holmes said. “I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
“We’ve played together since the third grade,” Winters said. She said the years together helped cement this year’s win.
“We knew what we were coming into,” Winters said.
“It means everything it’s what we’ve worked for all season,” said Hadley Richins, a senior whose now played her last game for North Summit. “It’s kind of sad, but I wouldn’t want to do it with any other team. I want to thank the coaches, they believed in us every step of the way and let us play our game.”
Coach Holmes said he is appreciative of all the fan support his team receives, especially from parents.
“I never have to worry about parent problems, and as a coach that isn’t always the case,” Holmes said. “The only sad part for us is that it’s over.”
“We played as a team and we worked as a team,” Brynlee said. “It was so fun.”
Deseret News all-tournament team
MVP — Marci Richins, North Summit
Hadley Richins, North Summit
Grayce Glover, Kanab
Eliza Swallow, Millard
Rylee Anderson, Kanab
Brynlee Richins, North Summit