The Lady Spartans were set to face the number one seeded Grantsville Cowboys on Friday evening for the semifinal matchup at the 3A state tournament.
Emery struggled a bit in the first quarter, unable to get some of their shots to fall, but held their own on defense. The first quarter would end with a score of 7-12, in favor of the Cowboys. Grantsville would gain some steam.
Aliyah Lester tied it up at 12 as she hit from beyond the arc in the beginning of the second. Grantsville answered back with a couple threes of their own to gain back the lead for the Cowboys. Lester would get another three-point shot as time ran down in the first half. It was another low scoring quarter, with both teams scoring 10 points each.
After the break, Katelyn Nielson made a strong move in the paint scoring the first points of the half for the Lady Spartans. Stilson then found Kali Jensen across the court as she put up a beautiful shot, scoring three more for Emery. Nielson again would be found down low, scoring the layup, bringing the Spartans back only down one point to Grantsville.
With four minutes remaining in the third, Nielson again would find the basket, this time off of a mid-range bank shot, scoring nine points in the quarter, bringing the score to 32-30, in favor of Emery after three quarters.
Kennadie Maughan began the scoring in the fourth with an inbound pass to catch and shoot, as she would score two for Emery. Kali Jensen would hit a big three from the wing, forcing a timeout by Grantsville, as the Emery lead grew to seven.
Nielson would be found for a nice assisted layup from Stilson with under four minutes remaining in the matchup. The Cowboys were keeping it a game as they stayed within a few points of Emery. Maughan would get another basket down low, making the score 43-41, after a Cowboys score.
With a minute thirty left in the game, the intensity from both squads was making for an entertaining end to the competition. Both teams had great defense being played during the last moments. With 14 second left in the game, Cowboys inbounded the ball, with the Grantsville player missing her shot, but coming up with her own rebound.
With two seconds left, Emery had the lead by two, while Grantsville was inbounding from the baseline. The Lady Spartans defense play was played to perfection as the Lady Spartans would pull off a bug upset in the state tournament, winning the game 43-41.
Emery shot 42% in the second half with Nielson leading the way, scoring 15 points in the game. Jensen was great on both ends, putting up 11 points. Maughan ended with seven and Lester had six, giving the Lady Spartans an appearance in the 3A state championship.
The championship game with be at 5 p.m. on Saturday against the Richfield Wildcats, broadcast live on etvnews.com/livesports.
Photos Courtesy of Dusty Butler
