Emery welcomed Beaver into town on Tuesday, December 11. Seconds after tipoff, the Lady Spartans hit a three and looked like they were going to run away with it. That would not be the case as Beaver held tough all night. After a foul at the buzzer to end the first quarter, Beaver was able to convert on a foul shot to tie the game at 10.
Beaver had a good defensive plan and executed it well throughout the game. They did a good job of limiting fast break opportunities; a strength of Emery. Beaver was also able to keep Megan Jensen in check for most the game by surrounding her down-low. The Lady Spartans turned the ball over 17 times on the night and many of those occurred in the second quarter, which led to a 19-14 Emery deficit.
Emery made up ground and tied the game at 23 with three minutes to go in the third quarter. They kept their intensity up and headed into the final quarter with a five point advantage, 28-23. Beaver would not go away however and tied the game at 30 at the free throw line after a line violation gave them an additional opportunity. With under one minute in the game, Emery went up 33-31. Beaver turned the ball over with 13 seconds left and a quick foul sent Kinlee Toomer to the line. “Coach always tells us to step up with confidence, knowing that they are going to go in,” Toomer said after the game. Toomer hit both free throws and sealed the win for the Lady Spartans, 35-31.
“We had a lot of costly turnovers in the game. As guards we needed to penetrate more to open Megan up and not settle for so many threes,” commented Toomer. Emery shot 30% on the night, including 21% from three-point land. Despite the offensive struggles and turnovers the Lady Spartans were able to rally together and prevail. They will play Parowan on Friday and Enterprise on Saturday at a neutral site in the Sevier Valley Center.
Photos by Dusty Butler
