High school girls basketball: Fremont heats up after halftime

TAYLORSVILLE — The Fremont Silver Wolves hadn't played in 10 days, and head coach Lisa Dalebout thought her team let it show.

Fortunately they found a little life at halftime.

After holding a nine-point lead at the midpoint, the Silver Wolves stormed out of the locker room and eventually posted a 65-51 win over the Brighton Bengals in the first round of the 5A state tournament on Monday afternoon.

"We had a week off and I was worried about how it would affect us," Dalebout said. "I thought (we) looked flat in the first half and (Brighton) dictated how we played."

A halftime chat did the trick.

"In the second half, we just executed and played better on defense," Dalebout said. "Mostly, we executed lots better in transition. That was the main difference."

Fremont seniors Kelsie Bell and Haley Sturdevant sparked a 10-3 run midway through the third quarter, gaining a 40-27 lead, which was a gap the Bengals could never recover from.

"(Sturdevant) did a really great job, she's a great rebounder at the guard position," Dalebout said of the 5-foot-8 guard who finished with 15 points.

Bell added a team-high 19 points, and the seniors combined to shoot 8-for-13 from the foul line at a crucial point late in the game.

The Silver Wolves scored all but six of their 23 fourth quarter points from the foul line to stave off Brighton's attempt at a rally.

Mikkell Minnock scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter, and all of those were from the foul line, while Whitney Wallace, who finished with 12 points, was a perfect 4-for-4 in the final period to stave off Brighton.

"There was a little anxiety and nerves to start, but I thought we played through that really well," Dalebout added.

Senior guard Shelbi Everett led the Bengals, who finished third in a tough Region 4. She totaled 21 points, hitting two 3-pointers and going 5-for-7 from the foul line. Mikayla Mosely also reached double digits with 11 points.

Up next for Fremont is a matchup with Region 1 foe Viewmont. The Silver Wolves have already beat Viewmont twice this season, but the Vikings have upsets on their mind after surprising Skyline in their own tournament opener.

That game will tip off at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Salt Lake Community College.

e-mail: sthomas@desnews.com