Veteran Falcons fly past Jaguars

TAYLORSVILLE — Clearfield has been in this position before, and clearly it helped the Falcons deliver exactly what they expected in the first round of the 5A girls basketball tournament against West Jordan — a 61-46 victory.

"I have two senior guards, and we've been here before. That makes a big difference. We ought to have more poise than some of the other teams," said Clearfield coach Dorne Hall.

The Falcons flew out to an early 18-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, led by BYU-bound senior guard Haley Hall with 12 points. They extended the lead to 20 in the middle of the second stanza before allowing the Jaguars to go on their own nine-point run to end the first half down only 11 at 33-22.

The third quarter was just more Clearfield as it got its break going and continued running its offense just the way it has all year. Ashley Washburn took over the quarter, racking up 14 points, including two 3-pointers.

"When we play with energy we play well; when we don't we don't," said Hall.

And the fourth quarter seemed to see the Falcons let down on the energy level just a little, when the Jaguars found theirs, coming back to lose only by the 15-point final margin.

The truly scary thing about the Falcons though is that one of their top three players didn't even step off the bench. Amy Arbon came down with the flu and sat sick for the entire game, but Hall is keeping his fingers crossed that she'll be ready to go on Thursday for the second round.

"She's our leading rebounder and our third leading scorer. We'll need her in the next game," he said.

Washburn led the Falcons with 25, followed by Hall with 20. Sialei Lolohea poured in 20 for the Jaguars, and Megan Gotberg added 12.