Lehi Sports
Falcon girls go 3-2 in holiday-time hoops
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Skyridge High School girls basketball team split a pair of contests before the break and then posted a 2-1 record on the road in an Idaho tournament last week, advancing their overall mark to 7-5 on the season as they prepare to begin the Region 3 schedule.
Dec. 16: Mountain Ridge 68, Skyridge 43
The Falcons struggled to score against the 6A No. 4 Sentinels on the road. They fell behind by six in the initial period, but the gap widened to 24 points by halftime. Skyridge made a run in the fourth quarter and reduced the deficit by nine points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the early hole.
Senior guard Abby Dotson with 11 points and sophomore guard Elena Chiara with 10 points were the scoring leaders for the visitors.
Sophomore guard Hallee Sheffield added a nice floor game with six points plus six boards, four assists and a block while freshman guard Nalei Nelson contributed six points, five rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Lily Grant also posted six points and senior guard Kyah Perkins collected five boards.
Dec. 18: Skyridge 73, Jordan 32
The Falcons bounced back in a big way with a 41-point victory over the Beetdiggers at Jordan. Skyridge started fast and built a 23-13 advantage in the first quarter, then continued to outscore their hosts in every subsequent period. The team had 16 assists and 13 steals in the contest.
Nine players scored in the game and four reached double figures. Chiara sparked the effort with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Sheffield provided 15 points with five boards and four assists.
Senior guard Abby Dotson netted 11 points with five rebounds and Grant scored 11 including three triples. Senior center Avery Hughes garnered eight points and three blocked shots.
Junior guard Leah Arnell tallied three boards and four assists, Nelson got four rebounds, Perkins grabbed three rebounds and senior forward Aiden Beck provided three steals and a block.
Dec. 29: Pocatello (ID) 48, Skyridge 45
The Falcons got started in the East Idaho Shootout tournament with a one-basket loss to the Thunder in a defensive game. Chiara had an active all-around outing with seven points, three rebounds, five assists and seven steals.
Senior forward Ariane Moeai led the scoring with eight points plus three boards. Sheffield collected four rebounds and six assists. Arnell added five points with three boards and a pair of steals while Beck also posted five points.
Dec. 30: Skyridge 68, Post Falls (ID) 46
Chiara was on fire from distance against the Trojans, hitting 5-of-7 treys and going perfect at the free-throw line among her 23 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocked shots against just three turnovers in an outstanding effort.
Grant also had a nice floor game for the Falcons, yielding 12 points, four boards, four assists and two steals, while Sheffield made great contributions too with 11 points including three triples plus eight rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Perkins scored six and sophomore forward Emmie Mahe got four points and five boards. Beck registered three rebounds and three assists and Moeai collected four boards.
Dec. 31: Skyridge 71, Skyline (Idaho Falls ID) 47
The Falcons ended their tournament run by blasting the host Grizzlies in their own gym. Grant netted four bombs from long distance among her 18 points and had three rebounds, while Chiara scored 17 with a trio of triples plus four boards, three assists and three steals in the effort.
Sheffield added 10 points with five rebounds and Beck posted nine points with five boards and a block. Moeai provided seven points with three rebounds and Perkins collected five points with four boards and three assists. Nelson garnered five rebounds and Hughes blocked two shots.
The Falcons have two remaining non-league tune-up games this week. On Tuesday (Jan. 6) they will host Layton for a 6 p.m. contest, followed by a boys varsity matchup against the Lancers at 7:30 p.m. The next night (Jan. 7), Skyridge welcomes Morgan with a 7 p.m. start time.
The Skyridge JV team won their tournament in the East Idaho Shootout with (from left) Ady Moen, Summer Holland, Bella Nelson, Ava Habbas, Emberlynn Dell and Nalei Nelson.
