High school girls basketball: Bountiful pulls away from West to claim 5A 3-peat

Box score

During every timeout in Friday’s 5A state championship, Bountiful coach Joel Burton reminded his team that a West run was coming.

It was inevitable. The undefeated Panthers were too good to wilt despite a double-digit second half deficit.

“They’re just too good of a team to hold down like that, but when (the run) comes, we’ve just got to respond,” said Burton.

His team responded in a big way, and the catalyst wasn’t the player Burton expected.

Bountiful sophomore guard Maleah Nelson hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a span of 34 seconds — one of which she turned into a four-point play — as her personal 7-0 run helped Bountiful pull away from top seed West 57-47 to secure its third straight state championship.

Down 11 midway through the third quarter, West battled back to take a 41-40 lead early in the fourth quarter. Milika Satuala hit a jumper to put Bountiful back in front 42-41, and Nelson’s 7-0 outburst pushed the lead to 49-41.

From there, the Redhawks put things on cruise control.

“The response didn’t necessarily come from the person I was expecting it would, but Maleah has had a good tournament, and so I wasn’t surprised she hit those shots either. She’s our best shooter,” said Burton.

Nelson finished with a career-high 15 points but admitted it took her a while to settle into the game.

“I was kind of shaky in the beginning, but I just stayed focused and looked to play as a team and just had an opportunity that no one really gets,” she said.

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Satuala led Bountiful with 17 points to go along with her six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two assists. Her poise and calmness under heavy pressure from West’s defense was one of the catalysts to the 3-peat. She always seemed in control, which early in the season she wasn’t.

“It was rocky to start with. I’ll admit it, she was trying to figure out how to be a passer and assist-getter,” said Burton, adding that there was a gradual uptick in her productivity throughout the season, building up to Friday’s championship.

“At the beginning of the year, it was a new position that I was put in, but it’s the one that I wanted to work towards, and I wanted to play a guard since I was little,” Satuala said.

“Over the season, all my teammates and coaches and my dad have helped me get to being able to lead the team and control like the tight situations that we get in.”

West made sure it stayed tight, even after falling behind 26-18 at the half and then 32-21 with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

Led by Kylee Falatea’s five points and four more from Tiana Fa, the Panthers cut the deficit to 38-36 by the end of the third and then took that 41-40 lead after a 3-point play from Falatea and a bucket in the paint by Ale Fonoti.

Falatea finished with a team-high 16 points for West, while Fonoti and Fa added 11 each.

From that point on, Bountiful closed the game on a 17-6 run.

Bountiful star Taylor Harvey wrapped up her decorated high school career with nine points and eight rebounds but struggled with her shot, making just 1 of 10 field goals.

The fact the Redhawks still won by 10 points despite Harvey’s offensive struggles is a testament to the culture Burton has built the past three years.

“This is how it’s kind of been all season. It hasn’t been about necessarily who scores or who’s getting any of the glory, it’s that we win,” said Burton. “That’s one of the special, special things about this team. We’ve seen it for three years.”

Burton said one of the unsung heroes for Bountiful was Brynna Castleton, who’s defense on Falatea played a key role in holding West to just 35% shooting for the game.

Bountiful shot 40% in the win.

5A All-tournament team

MVP — Taylor Harvey, Bountiful

Milika Satuala, Bountiful

Maleah Nelson, Bountiful

Kylee Falatea, West

Kaydence Falatea, West

Chenielle Nye, Salem Hills