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TAYLORSVILLE — Ellie Eastmond wasn’t expecting to get the ball quite when she did Thursday.
But with Maple Mountain’s girls basketball team trailing by three in the final three seconds, she knew it was a possibility — and she made the most of it.
Eastmond drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime, and Liz Eaton scored seven of her 29 points in the extra period, to lift the Golden Eagles past previously unbeaten and Region 6 champion Bountiful, 68-64, and into the semifinals of the Class 4A State Tournament at Salt Lake Community College.
“I was about 75 percent thinking it was going to go in, but it did, and my jaw just dropped,” said Eastmond. “It was crazy. It was relief and joy.”
Eaton, the leading scorer in Class 4A who also had 14 rebounds, five assists and two steals, scored six of the first nine points in overtime for the Golden Eagles (16-6).
Bountiful’s Kennedy Redding had 19 points, 18 rebounds, four blocked shots, three assists and two steals to pace the Braves (22-1), and they clung to a 40-39 lead after three quarters primarily on her efforts.
The 6-foot-5 junior scored on a putback layup following teammate Amy Chidester’s missed free throw with 36 seconds left in regulation, giving the Braves a 52-51 lead that they stretched to 54-51 after Redding swished a pair of free throws 25 seconds later.
With the clock dwindling, Maple Mountain coach Cory Green called timeout and drew up one final play with three seconds left on the clock. The play had three possibilities for the last shot, including Eaton and Eastmond.
“It wasn’t the shot I thought we would get, but it was one of the three options I had drawn up,” Green said.
He also reminded his team that it is pretty good in tight situations. The Golden Eagles won four games decided by six points or less in the regular season.
“I think a lot of it is just belief,” Green said of his team, which only has three seniors. “I just said, ‘Let’s get it to overtime, and once we get to overtime, we’re going to be fine.’ I think that calmed them down. They weren’t frantic; they were very calm and collected, and I’m proud of them for that.”
As soon as the ball got into Eastmond’s hands, Eaton’s confidence surged. Eastmond finished with 11 points and six rebounds, and Nicole Heyn added 13 points, six rebounds and two steals for the Golden Eagles, who only played seven players but four of them scored in double figures.
“Elli shot it with confidence, and I knew it was going in,” Eaton said. “She deserved that. With all of the hours she’s put in practice, she deserved to have that 3-pointer go in.”
Once Eastmond’s shot hit the bottom of the net, Eaton and senior Elzie Nielsen took over. One of only three seniors on the team, Nielsen scored seven of her 15 points in the extra period, including 5-of-7 from the free-throw line.
“I think we all went into the game knowing that we couldn’t back down,” Eaton said. “They have a lot of good players, and we just knew we had to take every shot and not be afraid of Kennedy Redding blocking our shots.”
Jaimee Stahle had 12 points and nine rebounds for Bountiful, which got 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Liz Larson.
Maple Mountain will play Skyline in a semifinal Friday at 4:10 p.m.
SKYLINE 47, TIMPVIEW 43 — At SLCC, Olivia Elliss had 15 points and three rebounds to lead the Eagles past the Thunderbirds in the first quarterfinal Thursday.
Class 5A semifinals
Fremont (14-5) vs. American Fork (20-5), 5:50 p.m.
Riverton (19-2) vs. Brighton (12-5), 7:30 p.m.
Class 4A semifinals
Sky View (23-0) vs. Mountain View (17-5), 2:30 p.m.
Skyline (19-5) vs. Maple Mountain (16-6), 4:10 p.m.
“I noticed there was a small guard on me, so I could take her into the post and go to work,” Elliss said. “It’s just kind of what I like to do. I think the team can get on one another’s back; it’s not really one person, but everybody trying to contribute.”
Hillary Weixler added 10 points and four rebounds for Skyline, and Sara Weixler, Hillary's sister, supplied 10 rebounds and four points for the Eagles, who built up a 41-30 lead on Hillary Weixler’s coast-to-coast layup in transition with 4:24 left in the game.
Lyndie Haddock had 15 points, five rebounds and three steals and teammate Lacy Haddock added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Thunderbirds, who went on a 9-0 run in the game’s final three minutes before Skyline made its final four free-throw attempts to hold on.
“Our thought was just to get it in, get it across halfcourt, and make them come foul,” Elliss said.
SKY VIEW 70, MURRAY 27 — At SLCC, Lindsey Jensen poured in 25 points and seven rebounds to lead the undefeated Bobcats to a rout of the Spartans.
Tia Archibald added seven points for Sky View, which got six points and nine rebounds from Kelsey Chapman. The Bobcats (23-0) emptied its bench early, playing 16 players with 12 of them scoring at least two points.
Shay Potter led Murray with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Mickaela Rueckert grabbed 12 boards for the Spartans (13-9).
Sky View will face Mountain View in a semifinal Friday at 2:30 p.m.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 60, SALEM HILLS 50 — At SLCC, Stephanie Keele rattled off 24 points and four steals to lead the Bruins to an upset of the Region 8 champion Skyhawks in the last quarterfinal.
Paulani Tarawa added 17 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Bruins, which grabbed a 46-39 lead on Keele's coast-to-coast layup off a steal with 6:09 left in the game and never looked back.
The Bruins (17-5) shots 64 percent from the field, including 67 percent in the first half.
Tiffany Madson led Salem Hills (21-3) with 14 points and four steals, and freshman Lauren Gustin supplied 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Skyhawks.
