High school girls basketball: Cavemen power past Bruins

AMERICAN FORK — Two teams that have marched through this season beating all instate competition went to war on Saturday evening, and 5A favorite American Fork came away with a big win over Mountain View, 66-44.

The Cavemen, who did lose two close games to out-of-state teams in the Nike Tournament of Champions, head into the Region 4 season with an 8-2 overall record, 6-0 against Utah teams.

Mountain View, ranked No. 2 in 4A, fell to 8-1 with the loss to 5A's top-ranked team. The Cavemen came out on an offensive roll, the Bruins fell behind and never could climb back into the competition.

The brightest spot for the Bruins came in the form of Christina Augustin, who, in spite of foul trouble, picked up 17 points, including eight in the first quarter.

"Augustin is strong. When she gets a spot down low, you can't move her," said American Fork coach Corey Clayton. "They were stronger on the boards in the first half than I expected, but we talked about it at halftime and improved in the second half," added Clayton.

His team might have given up rebounds in the first half, but the Cavemen also put the ball in the hoop plenty, pulling away for a 37-19 halftime lead.

Haley Holmstead led the Cavemen with 15 first half points and a game-high 19 overall. Amy Krommenhoek also had a strong first half, especially in the second quarter with 10 points during that stretch and 13 total. She knocked down three treys as did Kaycee Mansfield, who finished the game with 15 points.

"Haley was herself in this game and so was Kaycee," said Clayton, who said he is constantly amazed by the play of his top two offensive stars. But neither one of them was limited to point production, as they both did much more to help their team win than put points on the board.

"I thought our defense was good and took them out of their game," said Clayton, who also admitted that his squad didn't put enough pressure on entry passes in the first half, giving the Bruins some easy baskets. But they did improve that aspect of the game in the second half.

American Fork center Makenzie Moea'i also had a strong outing off the bench with eight points and a good defensive effort. Cyd Mason and Nikki Ybarra continued their impressive defensive intensity with tough play against the solid Bruins. Chelsea Kocherhans came on strong for the Bruins in the second half with 13 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.

Next up for American Fork is a matchup against Region 4 rival Lone Peak. Mountain View takes on Orem in its first Region 7 contest next Tuesday.

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