Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
OREM — Sometimes the best way to appreciate what you have is to watch it taken away.
That was the case for Kanab girls basketball a year ago, when the three-time defending 2A state champions fell behind 17-8 to eventual champion South Sevier in a 2A state semifinal to have their streak snapped.
All of that was a distant memory as Rylee Little hoisted the championship trophy over her head Wednesday night.
The Utah signee had 17 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots; and Kaycee Castagno added 15 points, two assists and three steals as the Cowboys won their fourth title in five years with a 54-29 win over Enterprise at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University.
"Last year kind of stung a bit for us, so coming out and just taking what was once ours and taking it again felt really good," said Little, standing just a few feet away from Utah coach Gavin Petersen and assistant Morgan Bailey.
"That was a hurtful loss," she added. "We had revenge to get, for sure."
Hadlee Holt led Enterprise with 8 points and 12 rebounds, and teammate Bentlee Rogers added 8 points and two steals for a Wolves squad that outrebounded the Cowboys 37-26.
But as Little commands plenty of gravity — and why wouldn't she? — the senior did something she's learned to do a lot this year: she passed.
The 6-foot-5 post, who averaged 20.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game for the Cowboys (25-2), is a four-star recruit ranked No. 82 in the ESPNW Top 100 nationally and was MVP of the Utah Top 50 league three years ago.
That made her the focus of Enterprise's stingy defense, and as the Wolves held Little to 2 points in the first quarter, she had to find other ways to be effective.
Enter Castagno, the sophomore who averaged 12.6 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.5 steals in 26 games, who had all but 4 of her points in the second half as the Cowboys used a 10-4 second-quarter run to take a 19-10 halftime advantage and never looked back.
"Kaycee's family loves basketball; she's probably spent more hours in the gym than most," Kanab coach Klint Glover said. "She truly loves the game. And that's kind of what we do; we have girls who love the game and want to spend all their time with it, then bring the other girls along."
Holt scored inside to pull the Wolves (21-5) within a possession, 9-6, at the end of the first quarter. But Kanab opened the second on a 9-2 run, taking an 18-8 lead on Little's putback basket with 4:53 left en route to a 19-10 halftime lead.
Castagno opened the second half with the Cowgirls' fourth block of the game, then converted on the other end for the first points of a 14-8 third that stretched the lead to 33-18.
The Cowgirls forced 24 turnovers, and Kenidee Glazier tied for the team-high with three of her team's 12 steals, to pull away for a fourth state title in five years — and Castagno's first.
"It's like nothing I've ever felt before," Castagno said. "It's such a high. It feels great."
It may not be her last, though.
"I don't think you can put a limit on her," Little said of her teammate. "She has so much potential; it's crazy."
