The top two teams in 3A, according to the RPI rankings, met in Price on Thursday night. South Sevier came into the contest at the top of the rankings, although it was Carbon that got the better of the Lady Rams in the first meeting.
From the opening tip, it was apparent that a fierce battle was on hand. The defending state champions came out poised while the Lady Dinos were in attack mode. Carbon looked ferocious on defense and decisive offensively. South Sevier showed its resolve and began to open up a lead by the end of the first quarter. With seconds left, Madi Orth hit a huge three-point shot to pull the Lady Dinos within one, 11-10.
South Sevier then began attacking down low with its big senior Presley Chappell. Chappell had some good moments for the Rams and finished with eight points in the first half. The Dinos continued to hang around, but trailed 26-21 at the midway point.
Carbon remained aggressive in the second half and started landing body blows. The momentum began to shift toward the Lady Dinos as they started to comeback. Sydney Orth went on a mini run of her own to pull the Dinos back into striking distance. She was seemingly all over the court while Alexandra Cartwright did a phenomenal job guarding Chappell in the second half. She kept the Rams’ big, high above the block and would not let her go down. This frustrated the Rams’ offense and allowed Carbon to retake the lead 35-34.
The Lady Dinos eventually went up by four and seized control. The Lady Rams then called a timeout and made some adjustments of their own. They began to trap the Carbon guards, which disrupted the Dinos’ flow. South Sevier forced a couple of turnovers with this defensive adjustment and retook the lead.
Down by three with under thirty seconds left, Janzie Jensen shot a potential game-tying shot that rolled around the rim and came out. Carbon immediately fouled, but South Sevier missed its second straight front end of the one-and-one, breathing life back into the Dinos. Carbon got off another three-point shot that was off the mark and quickly fouled once more. South Sevier missed their third opportunity to seal the game, giving Carbon one more chance. The Dinos found an open look, but it would not go as Carbon lost the hard fought battle 45-42.
Sydney Orth led the Dinos with 12 points followed by Makenna Blanc with 10 and Madi Orth with nine. Carbon (12-3, 3-2) will next play Grand (2-7, 0-3) in Moab on Tuesday. The Dinos will then have a huge rivalry matchup with Emery (8-4, 4-1) on Thursday in the Spartan Center.
Photos by Jeff Barrett
