Kanab 58, North Summit 49

OGDEN — Trailing 38-28 in the fourth quarter, the Kanab Cowboys showed why they belong in the 2A state championship game.

Kanab used a 9-0 run to pull within one, forced overtime on a late 3-pointer and hit free throws down the stretch on their way to a 58-49 win over North Summit.

Kanab head coach Ben Luce credited his team’s experience for being able to come back from a double-digit deficit late in the game.

“We have six seniors on the team,” Luce said. “We’ve lost in the semifinals the last two years in a row. … Our girls came out ready to play.”

The Cowboys started the game off with a 3-pointer, and after trading buckets throughout the rest of the first quarter, Kanab led the Braves 10-8 going into the second quarter.

North Summit would bounce back in the second quarter behind Kennady McQueen as the junior scored or assisted on all but two of her team’s second quarter points. As such, the Braves outscored the Cowboys 10-3 in the quarter.

The Braves missed a handful of open shots at the rim in the quarter but were still able to take the lead as Kanab couldn’t make anything on their end of the floor. The Cowboys hit only one second quarter shot, a 3-pointer, with just over two minutes to go in the half, as North Summit took an 18-13 lead at the break.

Kanab came out firing in the third quarter, cutting the Braves lead to as low as two, 24-22, before a late North Summit run pushed the lead to eight going into the final quarter. McQueen hit a pair of free throws and a layup to make the score 32-24 going into the fourth.

North Summit kept things going to start the final quarter, recording a block on the defensive end of the floor that set up a Hadley Richins 3-pointer on the offensive end to take a 38-28 lead, their largest of the game.

Kanab did not back down, however, as Kassidy Glover and Sidney McDonald hit a pair of 3-pointers, and Brinley Cornell scored and hit the free throw on an and-one play to cut the Braves lead to one, 38-37.

After McQueen hit four straight free throws for the Braves, Kanab got the ball back with only 13 seconds to go, down 44-41. McDonald dribbled all the way down the court for the Cowboys and pulled up for three, nailing the shot to tie the game at 44 and to send it to overtime.

In overtime it was all Kanab, as the Cowboys jumped out in front early and hit their free throws down the stretch for a 58-49 win.

Glover led the Cowboys with 14 points, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc, while McDonald and Cornell each added 13 points.

“Kassidy was huge for us,” Luce said. “We give out a game ball after every game and she got the game ball today.”

McQueen led the Braves with 20 points in the losing effort.

Beaver 62, Enterprise 44

Kanab will meet Beaver in the 2A state championship game after the Beavers took down Enterprise, 62-44.

After losing to Enterprise in the semifinals last season, Beaver head coach Jonathan Marshall said his team used that as motivation to get to where they are now.

“Enterprise outplayed us in the semi’s last year, so we felt like we needed to come out and redeem ourselves,” Marshall said.

Beaver scored the first bucket of the game to take a 2-0 lead and never looked back. After taking a 12-9 lead into the second quarter, the Beavers used a 10-0 run midway through the second to push the lead to as much as 15.

Sydnee Gillins scored in double digits for the Beavers in the first half, reaching 11 points at the break and hitting one of her team’s two second quarter 3-pointers.

“Syd’s a great player; she’s so clutch for us,” Marshall said. “In big situations she tends to have big games.”

Gillins and the Beavers started the third quarter right where they left off as Brittlyn Carter hit a shot from behind the arc to extend her team’s lead to 16.

Ronnie Robinson and Ellie Shurtliff tried to start a comeback for the Wolves, hitting back-to-back shots to cut the lead to 10. But Beaver would answer each time Enterprise looked like they were going to make a run. The Beavers led by double digits throughout the quarter and took a 43-28 lead into the final quarter.

“I thought we hit some shots when we needed to,” Marshall said. “Every time that they were making a run it seems like we came down and made a play.”

Beaver responded to each Enterprise run in the fourth as well to claim a 62-44 win.

Gillins was one of three Beavers to score in double digits, finishing the game with 23 points. Nixan Davis added 10 and Carter finished with 14 for the Beavers. Robinson finished with 18 for the Wolves and Sofie Shurtliff added 11 in the loss.

Beaver will play Kanab in the 2A state championship game on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 5:00 p.m. Enterprise will play North Summit in the 2A consolation game on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 1:20 p.m.

Both games will take place at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

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