Bruins win close game

PROVO — Another scare, another win.

The No. 1 Mountain View Bruins survived their third legitimate close call of the season with a 50-40 win over No. 3 Provo.

Though the Bruins remain undefeated this year and haven't lost to a team in Utah since losing to Kearns in the state tournament so long ago no one can remember it, they haven't quite been the dominating force this year that most girls basketball teams in the state have become so used to. Mountain View weathered two earlier scares over top 5A teams Brighton and Skyline before coming into Bulldog territory to take on yet another ranked team.

Both teams had trouble early on as the defenses were stifling and turnovers ran amok. After one quarter, the run-and-gun Bruins had only managed to tack nine points onto the scoreboard to the Bulldogs' eight. And two of their top players had already committed their second fouls.

"We couldn't hit the ocean if we were standing on it that first little while," said Mountain View coach Dave Houle. "But we know good teams battle each other, and the girls responded when they had to."

Though Mountain View couldn't get the offense off the ground in the first half and only recorded 21 points by the time it went into the locker room, its swarming defense smothered the Bulldogs and only allowed them a grand total of 14 while causing 13 first-half turnovers.

"Defense can make up for a multitude of sins. Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships," said Houle, who was happy with the way his team responded to the rough shooting display and considerable foul trouble.

With less than one minute gone in the second quarter, Michelle Harrison sat the bench with her third foul. Just more than two minutes later, Lacie Titmus joined her with three of her own.

"You find out about the bench when this kind of thing happens. I thought our bench answered the call," Houle said. "And there are going to be more games like this ahead."

But even with two of their top players on the sidelines for much of the second quarter, the Bruins found themselves with a comfortable seven-point leading heading into the second half. More foul trouble, with Titmus and Harrison seeing less than three minutes of playing time each, and a rejuvenated Provo offense led to some frayed nerves and blown tempers as the third quarter rolled on.