Here’s a recap of Wednesday’s 4A quarterfinals at Weber State, with No. 3 Pine View, No. 2 Green Canyon, No. 1 Dixie and No. 4 Desert Hills advancing. This story will be updated.
Desert Hills 58, Snow Canyon 53
Round three delivered.
No. 4 Desert Hills (18-6) and No. 5 Snow Canyon (15-10), who had split blowout region wins earlier in the year, met again — this time in the 4A quarterfinals at the Dee Events Center with everything on the line.
And while it was for a spot in the semifinal, the game felt more like a final.
In a back-and-forth contest with too many lead changes to count, Desert Hills pulled away late for a 58-53 victory to move on to the 4A semifinals where they will face fellow Region 9 foe Dixie for a spot in the championship game.
“It’s a dream come true,” said senior forward Tess Peterson. “We lost are only playoff game last year and to be able to keep playing is an amazing feeling.”
“What an intense game,” said Desert Hills head coach Ezra Irvin with a big smile after the game. “We knew it was going to be a battle against Snow Canyon, and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls for the way they battled back tonight.”
The defensive intensity was palpable right from the very start as both teams couldn’t buy a bucket with the game scoreless four minutes into the game.
From numerous blocked shots, steals, and hard fouls, the tone was set right away.
It was going to be a battle.
After four scoreless minutes, Desert Hills’ Mylee Villanueva got the first basket of the game, however, Snow Canyon quickly reclaimed control. The Warriors held the lead for most of the game, including a 20-14 advantage at halftime. That lead stretched to 29-21 midway through the third quarter before the Thunder went on the run of their lives.
And as Coach Irvin said, “the girls played with their hair on fire.”
The Thunder finished the third quarter on a 22-9 run, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Peterson.
“She’s an incredible player, who is always making big shots and that really gave us the momentum to keep going in the last quarter,” said Irvin.
From not being able to buy a basket, to not being able to miss, it was a tale of two halves.
The Thunder struggled mightily in the first half against the Warriors length, so the decision was made to full-court press and speed up the game, and it worked to perfection.
Desert Hills was led by Peterson and Emeli Langi who each scored a game-high 16 points. Langi also had a game-high 5 steals and Ellie Heaton chipped in with 11 points and three steals.
Snow Canyon was led by Falynn Randall who had a team-high 15 points and six rebounds. Braylee Chesley added 12 points, and Kaylin Wynia had 10 points. Chaylee Andrews also added six points, as well as a game-high six blocked shots.
No. 4 Desert Hills will now face No. 1 Dixie Friday afternoon (2:30 PM) at the Dee Events Center for a spot in the championship game.
Dixie 55, Provo 45
Dixie head coach Kasey Winters couldn’t have asked for a better start for his team as Dixie took on Provo in the 4A quarterfinal game at the Dee Events Center Wednesday night.
The Flyers flew out to a 18-4 lead after the first quarter and didn’t look back as No. 1 Dixie (23-2) rolled to a 55–45 victory over No. 8 Provo (16-9).
“We talked about getting out to a fast start and setting the tone early and the girls did just that,” said Winters. “We’re not the tallest team so trapping and getting pressure was key for us as Provo has a big frontcourt so extending that pressure and getting them out of rhythm was key.”
Dixie finished with 12 steals on the night, with Lydia Shurtliff having a game-high four and Izzy Hollinghead with three.
“We’ve been sitting around all day and couldn’t wait to play,” said Shurtliff about the quick start. “That was the secret sauce.”
Dixie had three players in double figures with Addison Winters having a game-high 18 points. Hollinghead added 14 points and Shurtliff chipped in with 13 points.
“We know we can play with anyone, and it was great to show that tonight against a good Provo team,” said Shurtliff.
Provo outrebounded Dixie 36-33 – including 14 offensive rebounds – but couldn’t get their shots to fall. The Bulldogs shot just 30% from the field and 18% from downtown. Provo shot the ball well from the free-throw line as the Bulldogs went 19-of-24, scoring nearly half of their points from the charity stripe.
After going down 18-4 after the first quarter, the Bulldogs kept chipping away at the lead and cut it to within 8 in the third quarter, but the big deficit was too big to overcome.
“The big lead really helped us out,” said Winters. “We went cold and turned the ball over, and they made some great plays and had us on our heels for a bit. Having that cushion to start the game was huge.”
Provo was led by Sage Yenchik and Mia Martinez who each scored 12 points apiece. Asha Alletto chipped in with eight points and Valeria Martinez had six.
Dixie is now 2-0 against Provo this year after defeating the Bulldogs 60-54 earlier in the season. This time, they didn’t need a second half comeback to win.
Dixie now advances to the 4A quarterfinals and will face the winner of Desert Hills-Snow Canyon.
Green Canyon 54, Ridgeline 50
Green Canyon’s shots from distance struggled to fall through most of Wednesday’s semifinal with Region 11 rival Ridgeline.
The Wolves had to rely on shots in the paint and second-chance points for their offense, but after they survived a rough offensive fourth quarter to force overtime, the shots finally fell.
Green Canyon connected on three shots from deep in overtime to send defending three-time champion Ridgeline home in a 54-50 quarterfinal victory.
The quarterfinal was a tale of two halves. Green Canyon got out to a seven-point lead in the second quarter, but Ridgeline brought it within two at halftime.
The opposite happened in the second half. Ridgeline got rolling and took a six-point lead in the fourth, but Green Canyon evened it to force overtime.
Ridgeline got back into the game at the free-throw line, where it hit 14-of-24. The RiverHawks also got their fourth-quarter lead through their defense.
Through the first three-and-a-half minutes of the fourth, Green Canyon scored only a single free throw.
The Wolves turned the momentum after they finally got a field goal via a 3-pointer from Kloey Tensmeyer.
But Ridgeline’s Abby Munford got to the rim and got a trip to the line to put it up two with only 8.5 seconds left.
With its season on the line, Green Canyon’s Halle Hunter got to the rim at the buzzer to force overtime.
“I had these girls a year ago too, back before they were all seniors and we kind of struggled with resiliency last year,” said Green Canyon head coach Kara Foster. “To have them come in and become more and more resilient is awesome to see.”
Overtime was all Green Canyon.
After they struggled to shoot all game, Mya Hinds, Talyssa Nelson and Tensmeyer each hit a 3-pointer. A sequence of a forced turnover by Hunter and a 3-pointer from Tensmeyer put Ridgeline away.
Nelson led in scoring with 22 points, including four from deep. Tensmeyer added 13 points and Hinds had 12.
“All season long, we’ve had girls that just stepped up in the moments that we needed somebody,” Foster said. “Hallie was obviously that girl tonight, that bucket to send us into overtime, and then obviously that turnover. That was amazing. We’ve had other girls, like Jaylee Blotter‘s done it, Laynee Gibson‘s done it.
“I feel like you have to have those moments to get you to a place like this. I’m just grateful that we have a team that can do that when we need them to do that.”
Pine View 38, Mountain Crest 26
Offense was not easy to come by for either Pine View or Mountain Crest in their 4A quarterfinal on Wednesday. Both teams shot below 36%, and the quarterfinal quickly turned into a gritty battle.
In the end, No. 3 Pine View advanced with a 38-26 win.
It certainly wasn’t a pretty win for the Panthers, but they had the hustle plays that mattered. Their defense was dominant, holding the Mustangs to just 26 points, including a shutout in the second quarter.
“It was not just a win, it was a playoff game,” said Pine View head coach Ben Luce. “I’ve watched them on film for a week now, and they’re a physical team. I’ve worried since Saturday about how we were going to score against them, because they (do) man, zone, full-court press.
“I was proud that our defense rose to the challenge and we did well rebounding and guarding their guys. It was a dogfight.”
Pine View’s Ella Fiefia led both the scoring and rebounding efforts with a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double. Kalea Schlenker also added 10 points.
Since the set half-court offense was a struggle for both teams, it largely came down to turnovers and second-chance points, and that’s exactly where Pine View capitalized.
Fiefia and Kenedy Eves combined for 20 rebounds, and Pine View scored 10 second-chance points. It also scored 18 points off turnovers.
“The rebounding and the second chance points are huge,” Luce said.
“We’re not much in transition, but forcing those turnovers and going and capitalizing on them. Those second-chance points, I mean (Mountain Crest’s Leighton Pratt) has more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds, and averages is a double-double practically. To be able to match her on the boards and get those second-chance points said a lot about Kennedy and Ella and Aniva down there."
Mountain Crest had a small boost of momentum in the start of the second half after Emersyn Brown hit two 3-pointers. However, it didn’t last long as Pine View got right back down and retook its double-digit lead. Brown led all scorers with 13 points.
The win gives Pine View its first semifinal appearance since 2021.
“This is a group that hasn’t been to the state tournament,” Luce said. “It’d be easy for them to just be happy to be here. They’ve taken the attitude since they’ve earned the right to get here, that they belong and they’re as good as anybody else.