Wayne headlines open field

For Wayne's girls basketball team the third time was the charm when it came to beating Panguitch.

Two region meetings ended with the Bobcats on top, but in the region 15 tournament last week, Wayne edged the five-time defending 1A state champions. Not only do the Badgers gain the confidence of beating the perennial power, but they go in as the No. 1 seed in a year when it seems almost anyone could win the title.

"We played a bit more loose," said Wayne coach Heidi Woolsey of the difference in the third meeting. "We played better defense than the first two games."

She said the Badgers would much rather face No. 4 seed Manila than No. 3 seed Rich, which is who Panguitch will face in its opening game. The Rebels earned a trip to the 1A Tournament after East Carbon forfeited the play-in game, which is being held in Richfield this year at the new Sevier Valley Center.

This season there is no clear favorite, although Panguitch, Wayne and Valley are the only three teams to be No. 1 in the 1A rankings this season. The Bobcats lost the first region meeting to Valley, but then avenged that loss the second time. Wayne's only two region losses are to the Bobcats.

Valley will have to win a play-in game against Intermountain Christian School, and then, if they win, they'll face Whitehorse, last year's tournament surprise. The Raiders went undefeated in region play and came in second in the region tournament losing the title game to Duchesne.

"There are quite a few tough teams," Woolsey acknowledged. "It could be anybody's tournament."

Wayne has the advantage of experience with seven seniors, four of whom start. They also boast the classification's leading scorer, Nicole Blackburn. The three-year starter and two-time all-state selection scored 424 points in 21 regular season games, which averages to more than 20 points per game. That's two more than the next highest scorer.

Hailey Sawyer led the Bobcat offense with 16.65 points per game. Derica Dickson was the leading scorer for Whitehorse with 15.60 points per game.

The Badgers watched the Region 16 tournament and concluded there will be no "gimmes" this year.

"It's going to be an interesting tournament," Woolsey said. "The competition . . . makes it fun for the fans and the kids. Maybe not the parents."

Wayne, Valley, Manila and Panguitch have all beaten Rich, but the Rebels defeated St. Joseph's, a team that boasts two outstanding guards, Katie McEntee and Julie Laure.

Duchesne will play either Milford or Mt. Vernon in the opening round, and they have great leadership at the point guard position, Jolynn Ivie, and solid rebounders in the paint.