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TAYLORSVILLE — Box Elder upset Skyridge 60-53 in a back and forth battle in the first round of state playoffs.
Going into the game the Bees were the fourth seed out of region five, but had confidence that helped them pull off the upset.
“They fought hard, played well together. We had a lot of confidence coming into this game,” said head coach for the Bees Aaron Dooley. “Everybody was doing their role and doing the job we asked them to do.”
The Bees were led by Emily Issacson, who finished the night with a career high of 27 points. Issacson was red hot from behind the arch, hitting five threes.
“My team was setting good screens for me. We were swinging the ball, getting wide open shots and I was just in a groove,” Issacson said. “I’ve been practicing really hard on the 3-point line, improving that over the years. “
The first quarter was a defensive battle between the two teams. Box Elders Adrenna Mckee picked up two blocks, and ended the first quarter leading 14-13.
Box Elder took control of the second quarter early by attacking the rim. The Bees gained an eight-point lead but that momentum fizzled out towards the end of the second quarter.
Skyridge inched their way back by driving to the basket and getting to the line. The Falcons closed the gap by making key free throws. The Bees finished the half leading 25-24.
The Falcons took charge in the third quarter taking over on both sides of the ball. A key contributor to giving the Flacons the lead was Marissa Bowman who found her way to the basket repeatedly. She finished the night with 20 points.
The Bees weren’t going down without a fight, though. The falcons had a commanding seven-point lead of 45-38, but two field goals from Morgan Reeder and a free throw from Kate Johnson cut the Falcons lead to two points. From then on It was a free throw battle.
Kambri Curtis put the game out of reach with a layup to give the Bees a 5-point lead. From then, the Bees made two more free throws to end the game with a seven-point lead.
“We had some girls come off the bench, Kambri Curtis came back today she hasn’t played since the preseason and that probably threw them for a loop,” said Dooley. “She came in and played well for us.”
Curtis finished the game with 10 points.
The Bees will face off against the Timpview Thunderbirds in the quarterfinals on February 21 at 7:30 p.m. at Salt Lake Community College. Lexi Lewis is studying public relations at Utah Valley University. You can follow her on twitter @lex_lew1018.
