Estimated read time: 3-4 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
OREM — Lehi’s girls basketball team trailed 11-5 at the end of the first quarter of its Class 4A state quarterfinal Thursday against Desert Hills.
But that’s not the furthest the Pioneers have been down.
A year after winning just one game, Apelila Galeai had 12 points and four rebounds, and teammate Samantha Lewis added nine points and three steals to lead the Pioneers into the 4A state semifinals with a 45-41 upset of Desert Hills at Utah Valley University.
“We’re really big about teamwork and family, just working together,” said Sara Christopherson, who had six points and six rebounds. “We don’t like to be selfish.
“We do what we do for the sake of the team.”
Lehi (14-10) will face Hurricane, which stunned top-rated Mountain View in the second quarterfinal of the day at Utah Valley.
“These guys have worked so hard all season long and have been underdogs all season long,” Lehi coach Aubrey Van Pelt said. “We went 1-19 last year, but they improved tremendously in my first year here. It just didn’t show in the record.
“This year is just a multiplier of last year. When we had lost our 17th game in a row, they kept working. They showed up at practice and came to get better. Those are habits that are showing right now at the state tournament when everybody is watching.”
Lehi advanced to its first state semifinal since the 2006 4A state tournament, when they lost to Bonneville 65-51. The Pioneers squeaked into the 2018 tournament and stunned the Lakers on the road before rallying to upset Desert Hills in an upset-ridden portion of the bracket Thursday.
.@lehigbb will face Hurricane in Friday’s 4A state semifinals, just as you all expected. pic.twitter.com/mpo2tLUCap
— Sean Walker (@DSeanKSL) March 2, 2018
Katelyn Phillips led Desert Hills (10-13) with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals, and Madison Clark added eight points and two steals for a Thunder squad that shot just 26 percent from the field.
Desert Hills got out to a fast start, leading 11-5 after the first quarter.
But Lehi battled back, tying the game on Alli Butterfield’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to end the half 17-17. Butterfield’s shot was her first attempt of the game, and it came on an inbounds play about 30 feet from the basket, on the faded mountain logo of Utah Valley’s home court.
“Alli is our sixth man, and she is an energy bunny,” Van Pelt said. “She has filled that role for us all season. “There is not one other person on the team that I would have liked to see hit that shot. She works so hard.”
The Pioneers opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers from Lewis and Savannah Heaton, taking a 23-19 lead with 4:50 left in the third. Lehi pushed the lead as high as 26-19 before the Thunder scored their first field goal of the half and charged back.
Desert Hills ended the quarter on an 11-2 run, including Clark’s 3-point play that tied the game at 28-all with 1:30 on the clock and paced a two-point advantage to start the fourth quarter.
The lead changed hands six times in the final five minutes. But after Christopherson gave the Pioneers a 38-37 lead with 4:03 remaining, Lehi never trailed again.
“I knew I had to make that shot,” Christopherson said. “That was the one where they could hit a three and win the game.”
