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TAYLORSVILLE — There were moment’s in Saturday’s Class 4A state championship game when the Sky View girls basketball team wasn’t finding much offense.
But the Bobcats clung to one reliable consistency every minute: defense.
Lindsey Jensen scored 23 points, and the Bobcats held Skyline to 24 percent shooting to cap an undefeated season with a 43-32 win over the Eagles for the school’s second-ever Class 4A girls basketball state title Saturday at Salt Lake Community College.
“We take a lot of pride in defense. That’s what wins basketball games,” Jensen said. “You can’t have offense unless you have defense.”
Jensen, a senior who has signed with Utah State, also had four rebounds and two assists for the Bobcats, who finished the year 25-0.
Hunter Krebs added eight points and seven rebounds for Sky View, and Kelsey Chapman supplied seven points and four boards as the Bobcats held Skyline to 10 points in the paint and didn’t allow one double-figure scorer.
“Every game, we just put in our all into every game,” Krebs said of the unblemished record. “We just came out on top.”
Sky View jumped to a 13-4 lead after one quarter, only allowing Skyline (20-6) to make one shot from the field — a jumper from the right side by Shaylana Davis with 3:57 left in the opening period.
Even when the Bobcat offense stalled and the Eagles ended the third quarter on a 5-0 run, the team from Smithfield looked to its defense to provide a spark.
Olivia Elliss, who had a team-high nine points for Skyline, brought the Eagles back within eight at 28-20 with a 3-pointer from the right corner with 40 seconds left in the third period.
“The defense saved it,” Sky View coach Kimber Hall said. “They got within six points, and I was thinking ‘Oh, here we go.’ But we were able to get some stops, and then Lindsey hit a shot in the middle that helped settle things a bit.”
The Bobcats forced 19 turnovers, including 10 steals, and converted them into 12 points.
“We just came out, and I think our defense is what helped us this entire tournament and this whole season,” said Sky View sophomore Kylie Hale, who had five points. “It’s been a great ride with a bunch of girls I love. It’s been so fun.”
It also helped to be able to turn to Jensen when the offense sputtered. The senior hit back-to-back shots to give her a team a 35-29 lead with 4:59 left to play in a game the Bobcats never trailed or tied.
“I knew we had to go offensive. It didn’t matter if it was me or my team; we just had to get going,” Jensen said. “We knew that we needed to match their physicality.”
Sky View hit 9-of-12 free throws in the final 3:47 to help finish off the game.
“They don’t get flustered,” Hall said of his players. “They just hung in there, and they did a good job of just staying with it. They don’t get rattled.”
Kyla Paulus scored seven points off the bench for Skyline, and Hillary Weixler added four points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Eagles. Elliss, Sara Weixler and Laurel Tomlinson had five rebounds apiece for Skyline, which got outrebounded 24-16 on the defensive glass.
Krebs had six defensive boards to lead the Bobcats on that end of the floor.
“They’ve got three post players who can play, and I couldn’t sleep at all last night (preparing for the matchup),” Hall admitted. “I thought Krebs did a great job on the boards in the second half. She cleaned up the boards a lot for us.”
When the final buzzer had sounded and Sky View’s student section rushed the court to sing the school’s alma mater with the players, Jensen was left at a loss following her final game in a Bobcat uniform.
“I don’t know if I can put it into words. It’s indescribable,” she said. “It’s a dream come true. It’s been such a fun season, and I know that they all have my back. We’ve never been closer as a team.”
