The Panguitch Bobcats took control early and never relinquished it as they were able to capture their first state trophy since 2019 Saturday with a 56-37 win over Tabiona.
The win gives Panguitch its 14th girls basketball title overall.
“Our plan was to control the boards on defense, box out and get the rebounds,” said Nadine Owens, who is in her fifth year as Panguitch’s head coach. “We’ve been stressing all year about being a team, controlling the ball and helping each other out.”
Defensively, Owens said the strategy was to apply pressure.
“We wanted to get them flustered at the beginning and get some defensive stops,” Owens said.
The strategy worked early as Tabiona’s Sicily Fabrizio wasn’t able to score from the field until late in the half. However, she was able to recover in the second half and finished with 14 pounds and five rebounds.
Led by sophomore Makena Owens, Brayli Frandsen and Mallory Henrie, Panguitch secured a lead with about six minutes left on the clock in the first period, and it never relinquished it the rest of the way.
“We wanted to shut them down early,” coach Owens said.
Makena Owens, who made six 3-pointers, led all scorers with 22 points.
“I was almost tearing up on the sidelines after about the third one. I was so happy for her,” coach Owens said. “She’s been working so hard, so it’s good that she can see that hard work pay off.”
Said Makena Owens of her shooting success: “That’s my strong suit. I was definitely nervous, but I knew we could do it. I’m so proud of my team. We worked so hard this year.”
Mallory Henrie and her cousin Tabetha Henrie, both seniors, added fuel to the tank. Mallory Henrie pulled off a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Tabetha Henrie added seven points and seven rebounds.
“We just worked well together and it was great to play as a team,” Mallory Henrie said. “Makena stepped up huge tonight, and it really helped us out. We worked really hard on never letting down this season,” adding that in the past, the team had too many letdowns in the second halves of games, so this year the goal was to keep the intensity at a high level throughout.
“We really played off each other well,” Tabetha Henrie said. “Mallory is just amazing at basketball and an amazing person. My other teammates are all just so hard working. We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve always come back together.”
“This is huge for us,” coach Owens said. “Panguitch, both boys and girls, have always had huge success in this tournament. I’m just happy we could add to that.”
All-tournament team
MVP- Mallory Henrie
Tabetha Henrie
Makena Owens
Maycee Rhoades
Sicily Fabrizio