Lehi Sports
Pioneer girls win one, lose one in hoops
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School girls basketball team advanced their record to 10-5 overall with a home victory prior to dropping the Region 3 opener last week.
Jan. 6: Lehi 49, Weber 38
The Pioneers jumped out quickly against the Warriors, working for a 15-8 lead after the initial period which expanded to 27-17 by the break.
They were on cruise control for most of the second half, but the visitors put together a little run in the fourth quarter that reduced the deficit to five points with 4:28 remaining. Lehi responded with tightened defense and an 8-2 run to finish the contest and wrap up the victory.
Senior guard Brynlee Cook led Pioneer scoring with 19 points and also had four rebounds and a block. Senior forward Madi Andrews added 13 points and six boards while sophomore post Kelcee Rasmussen contributed 12 points with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Junior guard Hayden Warren collected seven boards, two assists, two steals and a block. Sophomore guard Cali Ashton garnered five rebounds and freshman guard Brinley Sorensen dished out three assists.
“This was a solid win for our group before starting region play,” said Coach Sean Seastrand. “We really rebounded well tonight on both ends of the floor and I liked our ability to match all their runs with ones of our own to maintain a lead from start to finish.
“Brynlee Cook was really good offensively tonight and we locked in defensively in the final four minutes to secure the win. We’re looking forward to region,” the coach added.
Jan. 9: American Fork 55, Lehi 51
The Pioneers and Cavemen battled toe-to-toe for most of the Region 3 opener. The scoring went back and forth but the teams were knotted at 24-all heading into the locker room after the first half.
The dueling continued through the third quarter and into the fourth but a key rebound by senior forward Madi Ogden led to her 3-point make on the other end and gave Lehi a 49-41 advantage with 5:46 left to play.
However, after that the Pioneer offense went south and American Fork seized the momentum with a 14-2 spurt which allowed the Cavemen to prevail at the end. Andrews canned four triples and finished with 16 points while Cook added 12 points for the home squad.
“This was a really tough loss,” Seastrand said. “We controlled most of the game and just went cold at the end, missing seven shots in the final five minutes from the floor.
“We made a couple of key mistakes on defense and AF made their shots,” he said. “We played well for most of the game and I’m proud of a lot of the things we did do right. We’ll learn from this and keep on growing as a team.”
The Pioneers visit Skyridge on Tuesday (Jan. 13) in a double-header with the boys team in Region 3 play. The varsity girls game is set for 6 p.m. with the boys varsity game following immediately at 7:30 p.m. The next contest is Tuesday (Jan. 20) at home against Lone Peak.
