From Deseret News archives:
High school girls basketball: Silverwolves' defense stuffs Miners
"It was the first game I didn't look up at the scoreboard," said Smith after Riverton defeated Bingham 49-34 to stay undefeated. "It was too intense."
The second-ranked Silverwolves took the lead with 4:38 left in the first quarter and never relinquished it. Their prolific offense wasn't as productive, but their trademark defense earned them a win against the third-ranked Miners.
"If you're going to beat a great team, you have to have a great effort," said Riverton coach Ron Ence. "And I thought we had that tonight."
He praised the entire squad, but singled Smith out on the defensive end.
"She kind of plays in the shadows (of the other players), but she played really well tonight," he said. "She drew a couple of charges for us."
Bri Campbell also played well earning seven steals and tipping two passes away from the Bingham offense. Senior Shelby Ostler also came in and played well defensively, especially in the fourth quarter.
But the Silverwolves (13-0) relied on a senior trio — Dani Lockhart, Chelsea Sorensen and Alle Finch — to carry the offensive load in the win. Lockhart finished with a game-high 21 points, while Sorensen added 14 points and Finch earned nine points. Finch also had four blocked shots and Sorensen had two blocks.
Lockhart also earned 11 rebounds, while Sorensen added nine rebounds.
The Silverwolves defense held Bingham point guard Nicole Yazzie to just eight points and no Bingham player scored in double figures. Rachael Gines scored seven points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Malori Dixon and Chelise Fankhauser each added six points in the loss.
Smith said the players enjoy defense almost as much as they enjoy scoring.
"We feel like defense, that's our game," Smith said. "Coach (Jill) Ames pushes defense hardcore. She puts that desire into us to want to score and work hard."
Players and coaches expected to fight for every point, every rebound and every inch of court.
"They're not 12-0 for no reason," Ence said. "They've earned it ... When they made a run, we were able to counter it."
Bingham's full-court press near the end of the fourth quarter did rattle the Silverwolves some.
"We did make some mistakes," he said of the final minutes. "We were fortunate to have a small lead. We've got to get better in that last three minutes."
As for whether or not he was surprised the game wasn't a nail-biter as these matchups usually are, he sighed.
"I'm happy," he said. "We've had some close games with Bingham. And then if the ball doesn't bounce your way, you could lose it."
E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com
