High school girls basketball: Lone Peak reaches 6A mountaintop

Box score

Sometimes a young and inexperienced team is a great thing because they don’t overthink things, stave off pressure and keep growing, even in championship games. Lone Peak was this team Thursday night as the Knights didn’t panic after going down early, made the adjustments their coaches told them they needed to make, and hit clutch free throws down the stretch.

The result was a 46-42 win over top-seeded Copper Hills in the girls 6A championship to reel in the program’s fourth straight title.

“All of the championships have been amazing and with incredible teams, but I think that fact that nobody expected us to be here does make this championship more special in some ways,” said Lone Peak coach Nancy Warner.

“Watching these players make huge strides and staying focused on them and their goals to the end is something I’m super proud of them for.”

Dubbed the championship rematch, Copper Hills came out firing on both offense and defense in its push to avenge last year’s title game loss to a more-seasoned Lone Peak team. The Grizzlies recorded four blocks and forced poor shooting in the paint by the Knights early to build a 12-7 first quarter and eventual 28-22 halftime lead.

Lone Peak didn’t sit idle in the locker room and came up with a game plan that turned the tables on defense in the third quarter.

“There were a lot of adjustments we needed to make at halftime,” said Warner. “We were telling them where we needed to get the defensive stops and trying to pick apart where they were trying to attack us. We were just making sure we were locked in and on the same page, and offensively they understood where we needed to get to.”

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The Knights outscored the Grizzlies 12-6 in the third quarter to tie things up at 34-34. They started finding seams in Copper Hills' defense to get baskets while forcing turnover after turnover and holding the Grizzlies big scorers in check.

“I think we started out that quarter a little too relaxed on defense and they got some open shots, some run outs, and we gave them momentum,” said Copper Hills coach Jake Timpson.

“When you play a game and give the other team momentum, it’s a dangerous thing. I was proud of us for getting it back, but then they hit some big shots down the stretch.”

The two teams battled in the fourth quarter, swapping baskets and turnovers. In the end it was free throws that sealed the game for Lone Peak. With 29 seconds left to play, Lave Holdcraft hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie it up at 42-42. She was followed up by teammate Tati Harness who drained both of her shots from the charity stripe to put Lone Peak up 44-42.

On the ensuing play, Copper Hills turned the ball over on the inbounds which put Holdcraft back at the free throw line to seal the victory after her steal.

“I missed one earlier, and I knew I just needed to make them this time,” said Holdcraft.

She drained both and bumped the lead to two possessions.

Lone Peak’s defense forced 17 Copper Hills’ turnovers, 11 of which came in the second half and led to 13 points in the final two quarters. Three of the steals came from Harness who along with her teammates only allowed one Grizzly to reach double figures in the first half and game.

“We realized we weren’t playing to our full potential defensively,” said Harness about the second half success. “We came out and did it in the second half.”

Harness led all scorers with 13 points. Kennedy Woolston recorded a game-high five steals and added nine points, five boards and 4 assists for the Knights. Zuri Nordstrom and Charlie Warner added 7 points.

Aspen Fraser led the Grizzlies with 10 points while Skylie Barker and Fusi Leger each tallied 9. Barker also recorded 8 boards.

The win gives Nancy Warner her 7th title between her time at Springville and Lone Peak, moving her into a tie for fourth all time for Utah girls basketball coaches.

6A All-tournament team

MVP — Kennedy Woolston, Lone Peak

Zuri Nordstrom, Lone Peak

Tati Harness, Lone Peak

Skylie Barker, Copper Hills

Aspen Fraser, Copper Hills

Addy Horsley, Bingham