#2 Emery had its hands full against #7 Delta on Thursday night. After an early bucket, the Rabbits went on an 8-1 run to take the 8-3 lead. Emery pulled within one but trailed 10-7 at the end of the quarter.
It was an extremely low scoring second period. Daicee Ungerman hit a three for the Spartans, who grabbed their only lead of the quarter, 14-12, but the game was tied up by halftime at 14.
Things took a turn for the worse coming out of half. The Lady Spartans scored just two points in the third quarter, and Delta took advantage with a big 10-2 run. Later in the fourth, Tambrie Tuttle found the bottom of the net for three points to cut it to 24-21.
Later on, trialing by the same deficit, Bethany Justice accounted for the next nine points. She scored seven straight and dished it to Tatum Tanner, who capped off the 9-0 run. The Spartans went up 32-26.
Emery had opportunities to close the door at the line, but failed to do so. As a result, the Rabbits stayed within striking distance down the stretch. Delta cut it all the way to three before Tambrie Tuttle stepped up and made two clutch free throws to seal the victory.
After scoring just 16 points through the first three quarters, Emery exploded for 24 points in the final period. The Lady Spartans escaped a close one, 40-33.
Tanner had a game-high 12 points while Tuttle led the team with eight rebounds. The Spartans will play the winner of the Judge Memorial and Grantsville game in the semifinals at 5 p.m. on Friday.
-
- Photos by Dusty Butler
