Bountiful underclassmen shine in 5A state title win over Springville

OGDEN — A freshman and a sophomore led the way for the Bountiful Redhawks against a senior-laden Springville squad coming off two straight state championships Saturday at the Dee Events Center.

First-year guard Milika Satuala had a team-high 16 points, and 6-foot-3 sophomore Taylor Harvey added 10 points, six rebounds and three blocks to give Bountiful the 5A state championship win following a brutal bounce-out miss from Samantha Stepp that would have won the game for Springville in the final seconds. Bountiful won 41-39.

"'I'm winning for all the seniors that won't be playing here tomorrow,'" Harvey said, speaking to what she told herself during the game. "I wanted this to be a good memory for them in the future — to tell their kids and everything that they won a state championship."

One of those seniors was Harvey's sister, Jordyn, who committed to play volleyball at Stanford in the fall. The sisters' father, Anthony Harvey, is an assistant coach for the Redhawks.

"We were here a year ago against this exact same team, and they showed that they were more mature, they were more prepared, and they were ready," Anthony said. "We prepared all season, all offseason. We've been saying all year we want the honor of playing Springville again to be the state champion. They've been here every year. We're trying to build what they have, so (I'm) just so proud of these girls."

It was a defensive battle all afternoon in the home of Weber State, with the score knotted at 6-6 after the first quarter. Springville put up 12 steals in the game, and Bountiful had eight steals and five blocks, with all five rejections coming from the Harvey sisters.

Springville led 17-13 at halftime, but Taylor got going in the second half to tie the game at 19-19 early in the third quarter. Springville rattled off a 9-0 run late in the third to lead 30-25 after three quarters, but the Redhawks bounced back once again.

Taylor tied the game at 32-32, and then Lizzy McConkie hit one of just two Bountiful 3-pointers in the game (she had both) to tie the game at 39-39 with under two minutes remaining. Satuala hit the go-ahead shot with 30 seconds remaining, and Springville was unable to get a bucket on the other end, falling just short of the three-peat.

"To beat a team like Springville, who won last year and is in the championship every year, and to finally just take them out, it's just such a great experience," Jordyn Harvey said. "I'm so happy."

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