Defensive effort leads Viewmont past Provo in 5A tournament opener


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

TAYLORSVILLE — Like two fighters getting ready for a prize fight in Las Vegas, Provo’s Lavender Briggs and Viewmont’s Mercedes Staples went through their warmup routines on opposite ends of the court Monday at Salt Lake Community College.

Briggs casually drained a 3-pointer from NBA range. As if on cue, Staples floated in a step-back jumper of her own.

The warmup lines were focused on these two star players. Briggs led the Bulldogs to an unfamiliar spot — the state tournament — while the Clemson-bound Staples was accustomed to the pressure, having paced the Vikings to the 5A state final a year ago.

Staples landed the first blow, racing in for a transition bucket in the first quarter that Briggs could only watch as she tried to defend.

Briggs countered right back, though, with two first-half 3-pointers from the line used by the G League’s Salt Lake City Stars at SLCC’s Bruin Arena.

It wasn't until the second half that Viewmont’s Maddie Toole landed the final blow.

Toole held Briggs to just six points in the second half, and Viewmont’s defense limited Provo to just one field goal in the third quarter to overpower the Bulldogs 51-41 in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.

Melissa Sorenson led Viewmont (17-3) with 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Staples finished with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.

After Staples’ transition bucket in the first quarter, Briggs crossed over into a step-back jumper to tie the game at 6-6 with 1:17 left. Angela Slinker gave the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead on the next possession, but Staples came right back.

Provo's Kaila Lesa ((#20), Provo's Sila Soifua (#3) and Viewmont's Hannah Simonson fight for the rebound during the first round of the 5A girls basketball championships at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Viewmont won 51-41. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)
Provo's Kaila Lesa ((#20), Provo's Sila Soifua (#3) and Viewmont's Hannah Simonson fight for the rebound during the first round of the 5A girls basketball championships at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. Viewmont won 51-41. (Photo: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)

The senior who has signed with the Tigers casually notched a step-back 3-pointer with 19 seconds left. But not to be outdone, the 6-foot-1 Provo star who led Mountain View a year ago in the 4A tournament cruised down the court over the next 14 seconds and swished a trey of her own that gave the Bulldogs an 11-9 first-quarter lead.

Briggs drained another three from NBA range with 2:37 left in the half to give the Bulldogs a 26-20 lead, the game-high advantage for either team to that point.

Briggs had 20 points at halftime. But back-to-back 3-pointers by Viewmont’s Mckenna Morris and Karli Gunnell forced a stalemate, 28-28 at the break.

“We didn’t defend (Briggs) like we wanted to in the first half,” Viewmont coach Clint Straatman said. “We were tentative, we knew she was a good player, and maybe we weren’t really confident with how we wanted to play.

“We came out in the second half and defended her a lot more how we wanted. She’s a great player, but we didn’t handle her very well. We tried to pick her up tighter and earlier, and deny her the ball the best we could.”

Viewmont’s press defense took over in the second half, holding the Bulldogs without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the third quarter. Sorenson scored six during an 8-0 run to open the third, but Maddi Thompson’s 3-pointer helped the Bulldogs pull within 38-33 after three.

“It was just a tale of two halves,” Straatman said of Toole, who had four steals and three rebounds. “(Toole) didn’t have any fouls in the first half, so that should tell you how she guarded her. Then she picked up a few fouls in the second half, because she was trying harder.”

Though Toole shot 0-for-4 from the field, her defensive attack against Briggs — who averages 25.1 points per game — was the key to the win.

Briggs scored just one field goal, and six total points, in the second half when guarded by Toole. After switching off her late in the fourth quarter, Briggs added four free throws to finish with a game-high 28 points.

But the damage was done.

“Maddie Toole stepped up her game,” Sorenson said. “She did an amazing job on her, and kept her from getting the ball as much as she could. We all helped where we needed to, and it was a big team effort.”

Toole held Briggs without a field goal until the Provo junior drained a step-back 3-pointer from the left elbow with 5:12 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The trey pulled the Bulldogs within three, 40-37. But Provo could get no closer.

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsHigh School
KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter

ARE YOU GAME?

From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

KSL Weather Forecast