High school basketball: Richfield holds off defending champ Wasatch in 3A girls quarterfinals

OREM — In an exciting finish, Richfield held on to defeat defending 3A champion Wasatch 46–42 in the 3A girls quarterfinals at Utah Valley University.

Richfield started off strong, forcing Wasatch to take a lot of outside shots, thanks to a quality interior defense. Wasatch's leading scorers, Jordyn Richardson and Katrina Baird, were held to just four and three points respectively.

Richfield's Andrea Christensen had 10 points in the first half to lead the Wildcats to a 26–16 lead at halftime.

But Wasatch would not go down so easily. In the second half, the Wasps began attacking the rim, getting to the free throw line and were able to catch

back up. Baird came alive in the second half and gave Wasatch its first lead of the game early in the fourth quarter, eventually extending that lead to five points.

Richfield somehow found a way to regain the momentum and take the lead back, thanks to Chelsee Wilardson.

With less than one minute left in the game, Richfield had the ball and a one-point lead. Before Wasatch could decide if it wanted to foul or not, Richfield began a game of keep away, zipping the ball around the perimeter to eat up as much clock as possible.

With 20 seconds left, the Wildcats found a wide-open Wilardson underneath the basket for the easy layup and a 45-42 lead.

Wasatch had one last chance to tie the game, but Baird missed her 3-pointer with six seconds left. Wilardson got the rebound, was immediately fouled. She made the first free throw, but missed the second, finishing the game with 13 points after scoring Richfield's last five. Baird led all scorers with 15 points.

Richfield advances to play Canyon View in the semifinals, while Wasatch fell to play Juan Diego in the consolation bracket.