Lehi Sports
Falcon girls show well at Nike tourney
The Skyridge High School girls basketball team played seven road games in a row in mid-December. After a big win at Herriman, the Falcons suffered two close losses after leading scorer Merceius Mili had to sit out with an injury. She’s expected to be available again by mid-January.
Skyridge went on to the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. The Falcons won their first three games to earn a spot in the championship contest for the Mike Desper Division and were defeated by a team from Highlands Ranch (CO) to finish in second place.
Dec. 10: Skyridge 68, Herriman 30
The Falcons took control early in this game. They led 15-6 after the first quarter and 26-14 at the break, put really poured it on the second half with a 42-16 scoring blitz to get the big victory.Skyridge employed a balanced attack with four players scoringin double figures.
Senior guard Merceius Mili topped the list with 14 points, fourrebounds, three assists, three steals and a block in a terrific all-around outing.
Junior post Ellah Oeser added 13 points, three boards and a block, while senior guard Anaiya Nelson had 13 points with three assists and a block. Rounding out the foursome was senior guard Bella Sika with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Senior guard Portia Hugh snagged five boards and made a block while junior forward Ariane Moea’i got three rebounds.
Dec. 12: Timpview 63, Skyridge 59
It was a game of runs against the Thunderbirds in the second half after a close start. Timpview had a 15-13 edge at the end of the first quarter and the teams dueled even in the second period.
The Thunderbirds came out hot after the break and stretched the advantage to 45-36 in the third quarter. Skyridge’s girls responded with a surge of their own in the final stanza, outscoring the home squad 23-18 but falling short of getting over the hump.
Sika lifted her team with 17 points, four boards and two steals. Oeser tallied a near double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds and also had two blocks.
Nelson netted 11 points including three triples while senior guard Lillian Meyer had nine points and four assists. Junior guard Lily Grant collected six boards.
Dec. 14: Fremont 49, Skyridge 48
The heartbreaker with the Silverwolves came down to the wire and the Falcons were just one stop short of pocketing the win. Fremont had a slim 13-10 lead after the initial period, but the teams stood at 22-all heading to the locker room at the half.
This time it was Skyridge which returned to the court energized and the Falcons outscored their hosts 16-8 in the third to take a nice lead into the fourth quarter. However, the Silverwolves rallied and did just enough down the stretch to pull out the narrowest of wins.
Oeser sparked the effort with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Sika dropped in 13 points with three boards and Meyer added 12 points with three rebounds and three assists. Nelson added six points and four boards and freshman guard Elena Chiara also pulled in four rebounds.
Dec. 17-21: Skyridge 3–1 at Nike Tournament of Champions
In Phoenix, the Falcons topped Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) 47-28 on Dec. 18, then got by Raymond S. Kellis (Glendale, AZ) 51-47 the next day. On the 20th, they defeated Mesquite (AZ) 43-32 to punch their ticket to the title contest on the 21st, where they fell to Highlands Ranch (CO) 61-32.
Against the Crusaders, Oeser had a double-double of 11 points and 14 boards with three steals while Sika led the scoring with 14 points including three triples and also had six rebounds.
Meyer topped the points list against the Cougars with 12 plus five boards and five assists. Oeser added eight points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, while Hugh had eight points and 12 boards. Sika scored 10 with three rebounds.
Oeser had another big outing against the Wildcats, netting 12 points with nine boards, three steals and two blocks. Sika and Meyer added 11 points apiece.
In the title contest, Skyridge found the going tough against an undefeated Falcons squad from Colorado. Highlands Ranch is 9-0 and ranked No. 2 overall in that state.
“The Nike tournament was great,” said Coach Shaylee Nielsen. “We got to play some great teams from California, Arizona and Colorado.
“I thought we became a lot more cohesive and resilient as a team over the week,” she continued. “The tournament was a great opportunity for us to work on a lot of things before we get into region.”
Ellah Oeser and Portia Hugh were selected to the All-Tournament team for their efforts. “We’re hoping the break allows us to rest and get healthy before the second half of the season,” Nielsen concluded.
The Falcons are scheduled to entertain Mountain Ridge on Tuesday (Jan. 7) at home before visiting Westlake on Friday (Jan. 10) for a 6 p.m. tipoff to open the Region 3 season.
