ETV News Stock Photo by Dusty Butler
The Lady Spartans left town on Thursday to compete at the three-day Shannon Johnson Classic. They took on the hosts, Uintah, in the opening day in what proved to be a nail-biter. It was a true seesaw of a game with the teams going back and forth. Emery trailed by one after the first quarter, but tied it at 24 going into the half.
The intensity continued to mount as the final whistle drew near. Emery held a slight, one-point advantage going into the fourth, but failed to stay out in front. The Lady Utes overtook the Spartans to squeak out the 48-47 win. Brielle Rowley led Emery with 14 points followed by Katelyn Nielson with 12 and Makaila Peacock with nine.
Friday’s match-up with Wasatch did not going according to plan either. The Wasps were long and got their hands on a lot of passes, which forced Emery turnovers. The Spartans trailed at the break 20-17, but came out with ferocity in the third.
Emery had one of its best quarters, scoring 18 points to Wasatch’s 10 to go up by five. The Wasps answered back with their best period of the game to retake control and down the Spartans 45-42. Aliya Lester had herself a game, tallying 23 points on the night. Meanwhile, Alexia Mortensen finished with three, three-pointers for nine points.
After a couple of heartbreaking games, the Spartans took out their frustrations on the Templars. Emery dominated the first half and went into the locker rooms up 36-11. They continued on the war path and finished with a 57-38 victory. Lester again found her way to the basket, scoring a game-high 16 points. Rowley was the next Lady Spartan with 12 points while Mortensen added eight.
This week, Emery (3-3) will travel to Union (0-5) on Tuesday before returning home to play South Sevier (2-0) on Thursday.