The Lady Spartans kicked off region play against the South Sevier Rams in a highly-anticipated contest on Wednesday evening. South Sevier came into the game ranked second in 3A Girls’ Basketball in the state, right behind Emery.
The game was as advertised in the opening quarter with both teams trading buckets. The Lady Spartans were able to gain a slight advantage after Kinlee Toomer stole the ball and took it the length of the floor for an easy layup as time wound down. Emery was up 16-10 after one quarter of play.
The Lady Rams answered back when they opened the second quarter with a three-pointer. With two minutes left in the half, Emery opened up the game 30-20 by out-hustling South Sevier. They recorded many steals and offensive rebounds during that stretch and ended the night with 12 in each category.
The third was tight as each team scored 11 points to enter the last quarter with Emery up 44-35. The final quarter got out of hand as the Lady Spartans poured it on and scored 21 points. They put the game out of reach to win the region opener 65-41.
Megan Jensen was on a roll all night and put up a game-high 28 points to go along with seven rebounds. “Usually, they pack it in on me more,” Jensen said. “This time, they let me go one-on-one longer than I usually get to. It was a good night and a fun game.”
Kinlee recorded another double-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and five steals while Kacelyn Toomer added 10 points to help the Spartans to another victory. Head coach Lynn Tuttle shared his thoughts after the game. “That’s a great team we just beat tonight,” he said. “And now we have to go play the next best team in the region tomorrow night.”
Emery (10-0, 1-0 Region 15) has a quick turnaround and will immediately travel to play Richfield (4-6, 0-0 Region 15) on Thursday night for a rematch of the 3A State Championship game of a year ago.
“It should be a good game. They lost a lot of their seniors but they are still a really good team,” Jensen said. “I’m excited for a good game. They have some good players all around.”
-
- Photos by Dusty Butler
