Lehi Sports
Falcon girls hoops suffers three close losses
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Skyridge High School girls basketball team remains tied for second place in Region 3 despite a pair of tight defeats in league play last week. The Falcons are 12-9 overall.
Jan. 27: Weber 50, Skyridge 46
The Falcons struggled to find the hoop on the road against the Wildcats and ended up dropping the decision despite being close the entire evening. The teams were tied 24-all at the half and Weber just managed to net four more points in the third period to pull out the win.
“We couldn’t overcome a really poor shooting performance,” said Coach Shaylee Nielsen. “I give credit to Weber for playing a good game.”
Sophomore guard Elena Chiara played a great all-around outing to spark the effort, accounting for 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, four steals and a blocked shot. Sophomore guard Hallee Sheffield added 11 points, four boards, three assists, two steals and a block.
Sophomore forward Emmie Mahe posted seven points and senior forward Aiden Beck corralled six rebounds. Junior guard Leah Arnell provided three boards plus three assists and senior guard Lily Grant had four rebounds and a block.
Feb. 3: Lehi 55, Skyridge 50
The Falcons played a back-and-forth thriller against the Pioneers in their gym but came out on the short end after winning the first-round contest in exciting fashion.
The teams worked at a break-neck pace throughout the evening and battled to a 19-all tie halfway through the second period. However, Lehi surged to close the half on a 13-4 run and had a 32-23 advantage going into the break.
In the third quarter, the visitors chipped away at the lead until a pair of free throws by Sheffield drew Skyridge even at 44-all early in the final stanza. An Arnell triple with about four minutes to go wrested the lead back for the Falcons and caused an eruption in the Skyridge fan section.
However, Lehi responded with a 7-1 spurt to close out the victory. Sheffield had a big night with 16 points plus six rebounds for the Falcons.
Beck and senior forward Ariane Moeai added eight points apiece while Arnell scored seven with three boards. Grant contributed three rebounds and four steals. Senior guard Kyah Perkins and junior guard Ava Habbas collected three boards apiece.
“It was a really fun environment,” Nielsen said. “We have a really healthy rivalry with Lehi and their school did a great job promoting the games and created a trophy and everything.
“It’s always a battle when we play Lehi and always comes down to the last couple of possessions,” the coach added. “This time Lehi came out on top and hit shots down the stretch. We had some good looks at the end but just didn’t convert. I was really happy with our effort, especially on the defensive end.”
Feb. 6: Lone Peak 45, Skyridge 39
The Falcons had the lead at halftime in this contest but couldn’t hold on against the four-time defending state champions. The Knights won the battle of the boards and created havoc defensively with 15 steals in the contest.
Grant scored a team-high eight points to go with four rebounds. Moeai added six points with four boards and a block, while Perkins had six points with three rebounds plus a block and Habbas canned a couple of treys for six more points. Senior center Avery Hughes registered three boards and a block.
The Falcons wrap up league play and the regular season this week. They will travel to Corner Canyon on Tuesday (Feb. 10), and then on Friday (Feb. 13), Skyridge hosts American Fork for Senior Night. Double-header varsity start times for both days are 6 p.m. for girls and 7:30 p.m. for boys.
The 6A state tournament bracket reveal show is scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 14) beginning at 10 a.m. at KSLSports.com/stream.
