The Emery girls’ basketball team traveled to Kanab for the Thanksgiving Classic basketball tournament. Emery drew the Draper APA Eagles for their first game on Friday night. The game was about as even as possible, as both teams scored the same number of points in the first three quarters.
In the first quarter, the game ended at 12 apiece, followed by both teams scoring 11, ending the half at 23-23. In the third quarter, the teams score 15 each, going into the final quarter tied at 38. The fourth quarter was once again a very close battle, as both teams once again battled back-and-forth. The Eagles would eventually put the game away, outscoring the Spartans by three points in the final minutes.
Three Lady Spartans scored 12 points each in the game. Elli Stoker, KaBree Gordon and Aleeyah Cowley led the scoring for the Emery squad, as Megan Stilson was almost the fourth member of the team in double digits with eight points. Aaliyah Baldwin of the Eagles had a monster game with 35 points and seven steals.
In game two on Saturday, Emery would face the Pine View Panthers. The Panthers jumped out to the early lead after the first quarter, 19-11. They scored 19 more in the second quarter, as Emery kept it close with 18 of their own.
Starting the second half, the score was 38-29, with the Panthers in control. They would outscore the Spartans in the third by six points, bringing the deficit to 15, beginning the fourth quarter. Both teams put up 12 points in the final quarter as the Panthers would secure the win.
Katelyn Nielson led the team with 16 points in the contest, followed by Kali Jensen, scoring 10 for her squad. Stilson ended the game with nine points and Gordon finished with seven, as Emery drops to 3-6 in non-region opponents this season.
They will begin region this week as they host the Delta Rabbits on Tuesday, where the game will be broadcast live at ETVNews.com/LiveSports. A road trip on Thursday will follow, as they look to face the Richfield Wildcats.