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SALT LAKE CITY — Springville coach Holli Averett thought her team had it in them, but she wasn't sure if she'd see it this year.
The Red Devils (8-17) won just three games in Region 7 play, and entered the 5A girls basketball state playoffs as the No. 22 overall seed likely needed something akin to a miracle to advance past the first round. But after pulling out a 49-46 win over Salem Hills in the regular-season finale, Springville found its belief.
The Red Devils may have won just five games in the regular season, but have put together three-straight postseason wins as part of a four-game winning streak to advance to Tuesday's 5A semifinals at the Huntsman Center.
"They are young, and they've come such a long way," Averett said. "I think this has been great experience and confidence to bring back the tradition that is in Red Devin basketball. By working hard, good things can happen."
Since pulling out a 56-53 win over 11th-seeded Cyprus last Tuesday in the 5A opening round, Springville with remarkable team unity, as well.
The Red Devils have had a different leading scorer each night, with Brynlee Johnson and Sami DelLamas netting 13 points in a balanced win over the pirates that saw four players score in double figures with 7 more from defensive stopper Halle Hall.
Hattie Templeman then scored 14 as Springville pulled out a 45-42 rivalry road win over Maple Mountain. Then DelLamas finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists and Brynlee Johnson supplied 11 points and eight rebounds in a 45-37 win Saturday over Timpview.
Next up for a young team that doesn't lose a single player to graduation? A 4:40 p.m. MST semifinal tip against second-seeded Wasatch, whose 20-5 overall record includes a 9-3 mark in Region 7 play and a pair of wins over the Red Devils, most recently 64-43 back on Jan. 26.
Not that any of that will stop Springville, a bracket-buster no one expected to still be practicing.
"All through region, they kept the same mentality to work hard," said Averett, a Springville alum who improved to 96-34 in five years at the head of the bench. "Games were close, and we'd lose by silly mistakes. But they came to practice every day upbeat, not down or discouraged, but trying to work hard. We ended region with a win against Salem and it gave them confidence. I think they kept that momentum and a strong mentality to grind and work hard. You keep that mentality and good things can happen."
Here's a look at the state tournament field before Tuesday's semifinals.
5A girls basketball
The darkhorse: No. 22 Springville (8-17)
No one expected the Red Devils to be here, so why not keep going? It'll be a tough task with potential matchups against the top-two seeds remaining. But no team has less pressure than Averett's youthful band the relies heavily on freshmen and sophomores.
The favorite: No. 1 Bountiful (22-3)
The Redhawks won a pair of postseason games by average margin of 22.5 points, including Saturday's 62-30 quarterfinal win over Brighton that featured a double-double from Texas volleyball commit Taylor Harvey (18 points, 10 rebounds) and 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals from Adelaide Stevenson.
They'll face No. 4 Box Elder at 3 p.m. MST Tuesday.
5A boys basketball
The darkhorse: No. 3 Highland (19-6)
This could easily go to fourth-seeded Timpview in the all-chalk 5A boys semifinals. But the Rams used a 21-14 fourth-quarter spurt to rally past Bountiful 65-59 in Saturday's quarterfinal.
George McConkie poured in a huge effort in that game for Highland, netting 27 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks. Isaiah Drisdom added 17 points and six assists and Jack Anderton added 10 points for the Rams, who will face second-seeded Olympus at 8:40 p.m. MST Tuesday.
The favorite: No. 1 Alta (23-3)
This is a toss-up with No. 2 Olympus, which boasts the second-best scorer in 5A in Dutch DowDwell (24.6 points per game). But the Hawks have three double-digit scorers in Utah signee Jaxon Johnson (16.2 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game), College of Southern Idaho commit Ace Reiser (14.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.5 apg) and 6-foot-7 post Carter Doleac (12.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg) to earn the respect of the No. 1 overall seed.
