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TAYLORSVILLE — Copper Hills built up an offense that rated among the top teams in Class 6A through the 2017-18 season.
But the basis of the Grizzlies’ system has always been defense — and it was on full display Thursday in the 6A state quarterfinals against Layton.
Breaunna Gillen had 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and the Grizzlies forced 17 turnovers to take down Layton 57-31 at Salt Lake Community College.
Lenisi Fineanganofo added eight points and seven rebounds for the Grizzlies (22-2), and Eleyanna Tafisi supplied seven points, four assists and four steals for a Copper Hills team that had 12 steals.
“We make sure to stop the ball, and just work together,” Fineanganofo said. “If we talk to each other, we can get a stop in order to score.”
Daisy Barker had eight points and seven rebounds to lead Layton (15-7), and Abbey Nelson and Brenda Gallegos supplied six points apiece for the Lancers.
Copper Hills exploded to an 8-0 start, capped by back-to-back buckets inside to Lenisi Fineangonofo. The Grizzlies held Layton without a field goal until Daisy Barker’s short jumper with 2:46 left in the first quarter.
Copper Hills standout Gillen was held to just one field goal in the first quarter, but made plays in other ways. The junior guard pulled down a rebound, then hit Fineangonofo for an easy transition bucket to give the Grizzlies a 17-9 lead a minute into the second quarter. Amberly Lazenby broke a nearly three-minute long scoring drought for both teams with a 3-pointer from the right elbow with 1:38 left in the half.
Gillen, who averages 15.5 points per game, still finished on-par for her offensive performance. But she shot 5-of-14 from the field, and scored all but two of those points in the second half.
We're live at the @UHSAAinfo 6A quarterfinals. First up, @Copperhillshigh and @LaytonHigh.
— KSL SportsBeat (@kslsports) February 22, 2018
Stream it on @KSLcom: https://t.co/2dKeZDKol8pic.twitter.com/BMjAVs7YW1
Defense was a consistent staple, though. The Grizzlies played an aggressive defense with eight steals in the first half, and flummoxed the Lancers into shooting just 20 percent from the field.
“It’s become our identity over time,” Copper Hills coach Ben Morley said. “We had a couple of things we thought we could do, to take advantage. And the girls made the plays.”
Copper Hills held the Lancers to one field goal until the final 40 seconds of the second quarter to take a 31-13 halftime lead.
In two postseason contests, the Region 3 champion Grizzlies have held opponents to 56 total points.
“We’ve never seen ourselves as an offensive juggernaut,” Morley said. “It always starts with defense; most of our practices are spent on our defensive scheme. We have the players to do it, and we challenge them every day. We had another great defensive performance, and we hope we can keep it rolling tomorrow.”
