Lehi Sports
Pioneer girls finish 3rd in league hoops
Beky Beaton / Lehi Free Press
The Lehi High School girls basketball team split their final two league games and ended up third in Region 3 at 4-4 with a 14-9 overall record.
The Pioneers were seeded No. 12 in the tight final 6A RPI rankings and will skip the first round but will then have to travel to No. 5 Lone Peak (13-9), the four-time defending state champion and this year’s Region 3 champion despite losing their top player to injury halfway through the season.
They will play Thursday (Feb. 19) at 7 p.m. Lehi dropped the earlier matchups this year in league play but were competitive in both of them.
The winner of the second-round contest will face whoever emerges from the game between No. 4 Mountain Ridge (16-7) and No. 13 Weber (13-10) in the quarterfinals on Feb. 25 at 9:10 p.m. at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center.
Feb. 10: Lone Peak 45, Lehi 35
This contest got off to an ugly start for both squads with a lot of missed shots and turnovers, but the Knights made two buckets in the final minute to get a 12-5 advantage at the end of the initial period and were up 25-13 at the break. The defense was intense by both squads throughout the evening.
However, the Pioneers responded with energy in the third quarter and outscored their hosts 13-3 to draw within two points heading into the final stanza.
The spread was just a single point with 2:25 to play. Lone Peak did not make a single field goal in the second half, but they got to the line and made 20 free throws to collect the win.
Senior guard Brynlee Cook led the Pioneers with 10 points and three rebounds. Sophomore post Kelcee Rasmussen scored seven points with eight boards while senior forward Madi Andrews added six points, three rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore guard Cali Ashton provided five points with seven boards and junior guard Hayden Warren collected four rebounds. Junior post Paisley Worthen had five points as well.
“It was a defensive battle tonight between two tough teams,” said Coach Sean Seastrand. “It’s hard to go win in their gym and I’m proud of my girls and the fight they showed. After getting down 12 early we steadily climbed back in the game.
“Despite the final score, that was a one-possession game with under two minutes to go. My girls showed a lot of determination to scrap their way back into that game,” the coach said. “It wasn’t all at once either; it was just steady effort and execution for a long stretch of the second half.
“At this time of year we’ll take that as a positive and move forward to Friday’s game as another opportunity to prepare for the playoffs,” Seastrand said.
Feb. 13: Lehi 68, Corner Canyon 32
The Pioneers bounced back with a huge victory on Senior Night, holding the Chargers to single digits in three of four quarters and making it rain with 12 triples from seven different players. A dozen players took the floor and 11 of them scored. Lehi had a 40-20 edge in rebounding and 20 assists as well.
Cook furnished 11 points and seven rebounds while Rasmussen posted eight points, 10 boards, four assists and a block. Senior forward Madi Ogden canned a trio of treys for nine points with five rebounds and freshman guard Brinley Sorensen also scored nine with three boards and three assists.
Andrews contributed eight points with four rebounds. Ashton had a nice floor game with four points, five boards and four steals.
Senior guard Macy Soelberg tallied five points, two assists, two steals and a block and freshman forward Camryn Bell netted five points as well. Warren had four points and three rebounds. Worthen made four points too and junior forward Kaylee Hill got one point and a board in cleanup time.
“It was a great night for our group,” Seastrand said. “Our seniors combined for 33 points and brought great energy to the floor. It was really fun to celebrate them with a win tonight.
“I’m proud of how we ended the season on a high note with great focus and confidence, and we’ll see what the RPI draw is,” he added. “We’ll be on the road, but we’ll do our best to be ready.”
