Cedar clinches region title; Pine View snares road win at Canyon View

Canyon View sophomore Ashlyn Banks attempts a shot underneath the basket while surrounded by Pine View defenders, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 13, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

CEDAR CITY — After battling Canyon View to a tie during the first half, the Pine View Lady Panthers pulled away in the second half and coasted to a 59-37 victory Tuesday night.

Canyon View’s Cristal Elias (on floor) gets the ball knocked away from her against Pine View. Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 13, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Pine View outscored Canyon View 15-10 in the first period, with senior guard Dawn Mead knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight points during the quarter. Canyon View senior Cristal Elias scored seven of the Lady Falcons’ points in the first period, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Canyon View then outscored Pine View 13-8 during the second quarter, with Jordan Nielson making two 3-pointers for the Falcons. Nielson was fouled while banking in her second trey and made the ensuing free throw for a four-point play that put Canyon View briefly ahead, 17-15. The score stayed close the rest of the second period, and at halftime, the teams went into the locker rooms deadlocked at 23-all.

Pine View head coach Chris Brinagh said he told his team at halftime to play with more intensity.

“I told them, we’ve gotta play and we’ve gotta win, or we’re out of the playoffs,” he said.

“It’s tough to play a team like Canyon View, who played us hard. It was their senior night, and they had nothing to lose. We really had to fight for the win.”

Pine View outscored Canyon View 16-9 during the third period, with senior Claire Newby making seven of the Lady Panthers’ points that quarter. She continued to take the ball inside several more times in the fourth quarter, finishing with a game-high 22 points, 15 of which came in the second half.

Pine View’s stifling defense held Canyon View to a single field goal during the fourth quarter, the Panthers outscoring the Lady Falcons 20-5 during that stretch.

Pine View sophomore guard Sophia Jensen drives to the basket while being guarded by Canyon View freshman Addy Newman, Cedar City, Utah, Feb. 13, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

“We had a great first half, but kind of fell apart after that,” said Canyon View head coach Jaycee Slack-Barnhurst. “But I think we’re seeing some good things heading into next year. We’ve shown that we can play with some of the tougher teams in the region. We’ve just got to find a way to do that for the full 32 minutes.”

Adding to Newby’s 22 points, Pine View’s Mead scored 13 and Saraven Allen made 10.

Canyon View was led by senior Elias, who scored 12 points, and Nielson added nine.

Pine View, which has a bye on Thursday, finishes its season with a 7-5 record in Region 9, guaranteeing it a playoff spot. Cedar, which beat Hurricane Tuesday, sewed up the region title, while Hurricane can do no worse than a tie for second. 

Cedar 38, Hurricane 35

The Lady Reds won at Hurricane in a low-scoring contest, 38-35. Cedar’s victory snapped the Lady Tigers’ seven-game winning streak and assured the Lady Reds of the Region 9 title.

Hurricane had a shot to win the game in the closing seconds, but missed the attempt. Cedar’s Dream Weaver rebounded the miss and was fouled. She sank both free throws to account for the final three-point margin.

“We had a really good look, but just missed it,” Hurricane coach Franci Homer said.

Weaver finished with 24 points, including three 3-pointers. She also pulled down six rebounds and had four assists.

“We had 10 assists on our 13 baskets,” said Cedar head coach Corry Nielsen. “Both teams played great defense. We blocked 11 of their shots.”

The game also marked Cedar senior Carley Davis’ return to action after missing more than a week due to a concussion. Davis finished with four points, three rebounds, two assists, and four steals. Sophomore guard Japrix Weaver added five points for the Lady Reds.

Hurricane was led by senior Jayden Langford’s eight points, while Hailey Homer added seven. Madi Hirschi added four points, five rebounds and five steals for the Lady Tigers.

Hurricane (now 7-4 in region play) will finish out its regular season at Snow Canyon Thursday. The Tigers can secure the No. 2 playoff spot with a win on Thursday. Meanwhile, region champion Cedar (9-2) will face Dixie (3-8) at Cedar that same evening.

Region 9 Standings

Cedar  9-2, 16-4
Hurricane  7-4, 12-9
Pine View  7-5, 12-6
Desert Hills  6-5, 6-13
Snow Canyon 5-6, 9-12
Dixie 3-8, 9-14
Canyon View  2-9, 5-16

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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