Lone Peak hangs on to top rival American Fork

HIGHLAND — In a battle between two of the most highly touted girls basketball teams in the state, the Lone Peak Knights used an early advantage to take care of American Fork 64-56 in the Region 4 opener for both teams.

American Fork looked a little nervous in the early going while Lone Peak came out of a rough Phoenix tournament with plenty of spark. The Knights took advantage of their height and experience by rushing out to a 10-0 lead, behind the solid efforts of Ryan Littlefield.

Littlefield did just about everything in the first half, going 5-for-5 from the field and blocking four shots.

"Ryan had an eye-opening experience in Phoenix as she went against girls that are much bigger," said Lone Peak coach Keith Flood of his 6-foot-2 center who finished the game with 14 points. "She played some great defense, grabbed some rebounds and had a nice soft touch around the basket."

But Littlefield wasn't the only Knight that played well as Caitlyn Sears scored seven points in the opening two quarters, and Shannon Harmer added five, including her lone 3-pointer.

It looked to be all but over as the Knights ran into the locker room with a 30-15 advantage.

"We came out playing the way we needed to in the first half. Phoenix was a good learning experience. Our focus has been getting back to what we need to do, how we need to play," said Flood, who noted that the team had also made some adjustments since their tournament in Arizona. Sears is now running the point.

But after taking the 15-point lead into the second half, the Knights got a little complacent, and American Fork did just the opposite. It showed everyone the team that had gone 9-1 to start the season by cutting the large Lone Peak lead to eight points after three quarters of play.

"The second half we lost focus a little bit. We weren't using our size the same way we were in the first half. We were taking too many early shots and not taking care of the basketball. American Fork is a good team and they took advantage," said Flood.

The American Fork comeback in the third quarter was led by its two sophomore stars as Haley Holmstead scored six of her team-high 21 points in the period, and Kaycee Mansfield picked up seven of her 14 points.