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TAYLORSVILLE — Eleyana Tafisi was everywhere Friday afternoon at Salt Lake Community College.
Dishing dimes to teammate Emily Larsen for a score. Swerving around three Lone Peak defenders for another score.
At halftime, the junior point guard was even selling hot dogs and pretzels at the concessions stand.
OK, that last part isn’t true. But the rest of it? It also included a win.
Tafisi had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Breaunna Gillen added 16 points and 12 rebounds as Copper Hills got out to a big early lead and rolled to a 51-34 win over Lone Peak in a Class 6A state semifinal at Bruin Arena.
Emily Larsen added 14 points for the Grizzlies, who advanced to Saturday’s championship game against Bingham, which beat top-ranked Fremont 46-42 in the other semifinal. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. MT at SLCC.
“We were really pumped coming into this game,” Tafisi said. “It started in warmups; we knew we needed to bring the energy. It’s the semifinals, and we haven’t gotten past the semifinals.
“We had huge energy.”
The Grizzlies (23-2) were especially excited because a win meant the program advanced to the state championship after back-to-back seasons of heartbreak in the semifinals.
But make no mistake; Copper Hills doesn’t want to be done yet.
“They know it’s the semifinal, and we’ve been there before and haven’t been able to turn the page before,” Copper Hills coach Ben Morley said. “They have those memories. But every year is different, and this was our chance once again to pick up that last win that puts us into the championship game.
“To other people, it might’ve been something to talk about it. But we didn’t mention it. Our goal was never to get past the semifinals; it was to win the championship. We’re still hungry and we’ve got one more game to play.”
Abby Conlee led Lone Peak with 12 points, and Maddy Eaton supplied 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Lone Peak (14-8).
But the Knights couldn’t get stops down the stretch to erase an early deficit. Copper Hills led from the opening tip and shot 66 percent in the fourth quarter to close out the victory with teamwork and a group energized to make the extra pass to a friend.
“That was a different type of game for us,” Morley said. “We had trouble finishing shots that we normally make. But just like in the quarterfinals, we had to win this game with defense.”
Tafisi had eight points in the first half, but she did more than that en route to a 22-12 advantage at the break.
When you miss the free throw, but 🤷♀️ ... @Copperhillshigh advances to the 6A state championship with a 51-34 win over Lone Peak. pic.twitter.com/HWXv8O1hmk
— KSL.com Sports (@KSLcomSports) February 23, 2019
The 5-foot-6 guard was electric bringing the ball up the court, crossing over opponents and finding the open player anywhere on the court — whether it was Larsen or Fineanganofo or Gillen, whose first-quarter fastbreak bucket paced a 10-2 run that put the Grizzlies in control from the start.
Tafisi opened the second half with a 3-pointer on Copper Hills' first possession, and Lone Peak couldn’t recover.
“It gives me hype when I get an assist or they go score,” Tafisi said. “I probably get more hyped off that than when I score and I just get them the ball.”
Even when the Knights put together a 9-4 run to end the third period, Copper Hills still took a 29-25 edge into the fourth and extended the lead when Gillen opened the final quarter with a bucket on the Grizzlies’ first possession.
And with one final chance to impress, Tafisi turned a missed free throw into a putback opportunity in the final period, helping to seal the victory as Copper Hills held the Knights to just nine points in the fourth quarter.
Friday’s moment was as much a coronation as a next step. After back-to-back season-ending losses in the semifinals, the Grizzlies are finally one win away from their ultimate goal of a championship.
It’s a big step — but they aren’t done yet.
“It’s pretty big. I know I should be feeling hyped,” Tafisi said. “But we have to keep calm. It’s one more game together and we just have to give it our all.”
