High school girls basketball: American Fork runs to win

When a high school girls basketball team scores 66 points in a ball game, they generally expect to win. They certainly don't expect to look up on the scoreboard to find themselves on the losing end by 22 points.

But that's exactly what happened when the American Fork and Lone Peak teams played the rematch of the year in Region 4 girls hoops. American Fork didn't want another overtime game. It didn't want to come so dangerously close to a loss this time around. And it didn't give the Knights any reason to believe they could win, so they completed an 88-66 victory.

The Cavemen had put up 50 points by halftime and found themselves ahead by 16. They seemed to be scoring at will from the inside and the outside, from drives and from dishes. But Lone Peak gave it all they had, and they had plenty — against most anyone but a team like American Fork.

Cydne Mason came out on fire with 11 points in the first quarter for the Cavemen.

"Cydne has been awesome in the last two games," American Fork coach Corey Clayton said.

Mason finished the game with 18 points and a pair of threes, but she only wanted to give credit to her teammates and their defense.

"We played well against Spanish Fork and this was like a continuation of that, but if we talk on defense it makes a big difference for us, even offensively," Mason said.

"It was fun to see us play our game, and today I thought we were attacking their zone well, and we always play well against man-to-man. The last couple of games we've focused on what we do and not what the other teams do. I haven't even given them a scouting report, and they've responded," said Clayton, who also noted just how much fun his team has been to watch in the last two games, during which they've put up a total of 171 points.

"We're best when we don't run any plays, when they use motion and create. I've got to quit overcoaching and sit and enjoy the show. I'm a coach that likes to give a lot of freedom, but with this team I've almost got to turn it over completely to them," he added.

The Cavemen led 25-12 after one with the Cavemen coming out on top 50-34 at the half. A 74-48 lead at the end of three had some people dreaming of 100, but Lone Peak outscored American Fork 18-14 in the final period.

Haley Holmstead tore apart the Lone Peak defense with the help of some impressive passes from teammates and scored a game-high 24. Kaycee Mansfield matched teammate Mason with 18, and Amy Krommenhoek put 13 on the board including a trio of treys. In all American Fork sunk seven from behind the arc.

But it wasn't just the Cavemen that were draining the long ball. Lone Peak's Megan Smith poured in four treys en route to her 20 points, and her team sunk eight overall as the long ball reigned. Dalene Hansen came off the bench with 12 points and a pair of threes, while Marquelle Funk and Whitney Johnson had 10 points each.

American Fork extended it's instate and league winning streak and now leads Region 7 with a 6-0 record, while the Knights fell to 3-3 and third place.

---

E-mail: jolsen@desnews.com