Estimated read time: 5-6 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
Copper Hills 65, Granger 39
TAYLORSVILLE — Boasting the state’s second-leading scorer and an experienced lineup that has been to the state tournament before, Region 3 champion Copper Hills likely carried a mantle of one of the favorites into the first day of the Class 6A girls basketball state tournament.
But the Grizzlies seemed plenty comfortable in that role Monday evening.
Breaunna Gillen poured in 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and four steals, and Emily Larsen added 11 points and 14 rebounds to help the Grizzlies roll to a 65-39 win over Granger in the opening round at Bruin Arena at Salt Lake Community College.
The Grizzlies (21-2), ranked second in the state behind defending champion Fremont, used a fast start for an 11-2 lead on Madison Brown’s 3-pointer just over two minutes into the game. The lead ballooned to 20-7 by the end of the first quarter, and Gillens’ triple to open the second paced an 11-4 run before the break.
Copper Hills forced 13 turnovers, out-rebounded the Lancers 26-15, and held Granger to just 27.8 percent shooting en route to a 31-13 halftime lead.
“I think the effort was solid on the defensive end,” Copper Hills coach Ben Morley said. “We made some mistakes and gave up too many offensive rebounds in the first half. We didn’t block out, and to Granger’s credit, they are pretty good at crashing the offensive boards.
“But overall, we played a lot of different defenses, and the energy and effort that we expect of our players was there throughout the game.”
Granger’s Kaelijah Sligar led all scorers with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, and but the Lancers (8-13) shot just 33 percent from the field.
The Grizzlies held the Lancers to one third-quarter field goal until Chancey Leatherwood’s 3-pointer with just over 90 seconds remaining, coasting to a 46-22 lead by the fourth quarter.
That was with just one field goal in each of the middle two quarters from Gillens, a McDonald’s All-American nominee and Copper Hills’ leading scorer.
But the defense? That was always there.
“Breaunna is one of the most underrated players in the state, even though people know how good she is,” Morley said of the senior who averaged 18.3 points per game during the regular season. “But the intangibles she does for our team has made her more than just the great offensive player that she’s always been.
“She didn’t have a great night shooting the ball, but she rebounded the ball well, she made good plays creating for others, and she just proved why she is one of the funnest players to coach and watch in my eyes.”
Copper Hills advanced to face Westlake at 2:30 p.m. MT in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Westlake 53, Syracuse 37
Westlake wasn’t playing like Westlake girls’ basketball team in the opening round of the Class 6A state tournament Monday night.
That’s a credit to Syracuse, which stifled the Thunder in a less-than-offensive showcase of a game where no team led by more than six through three quarters.
Eventually, though, the Thunder found itself.
Samantha Hester scored 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting, and Ashley Parry added five points, three assists and six steals to help Westlake pull away from the Titans, 53-37, and advanced to Wednesday’s quarterfinals at Salt Lake Community College.
“We tried to tell them to push it and catch them out of position, but Syracuse did their homework and tried to take away the stuff we do best,” Westlake coach Michael O’Connor said. In the end, our defense created good offense.”
Marissa Scoresby added 11 points — all in the fourth quarter — for the Thunder (17-5), which got eight points and eight rebounds from Rian Fullmer.
After neither team found separation during a 6-all first quarter, Westlake’s Hester gave the Thunder a game-high lead of six, 16-10, with a putback basket midway through the second quarter.
But the Titans immediately responded, tying the game with an 8-2 run before Parry’s 3-pointer lifted Westlake to a 23-18 halftime edge.
Hester had 12 points and four rebounds at the break, leading all scorers as the only player in double digits at the break.
But nothing felt comfortable for most of the game — which is a credit to the Titans (14-8).
“We won the game because we played defense,” O’Connor said. “We just broke down what they were doing, and we stopped penetration and I thought we did a terrific job. Sam made some big shots, Ashley hit some shots and it was a whole new game when you come into the playoffs.”
Still, the Thunder couldn’t pull away, and Syracuse’s Ashley Agren capped a quick 4-0 spurt to end the third quarter that brought the Titans within one, 29-28, to start the final period.
That’s when Westlake finally started to pull away.
“The game kind of loosened up a little,” O’Connor said. “All of a sudden they extended their pressure and it opened the floor up. That opened us up a little, and we weren’t so compact and tight.”
Scoresby hit her first three of the game to cap an 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter, gifting the Thunder a 37-29 lead. The senior guard scored 11-straight points in the final period for Westlake, which held the Titans to scoreless from the field until Rachel Godfrey’s layup with just over three minutes remaining.
By then, Syracuse trailed 43-33 and the Thunder salted away its quarterfinal berth by holding the Titans to two fourth-quarter field goals.
“That just goes to show (Marissa) and her ability to hang in there,” O’Connor said. “She was in foul trouble all game, but she hung in and played her best when her best was needed. That’s big.”
