5A girls high school basketball: Larsen does it all in Kearns victory

TAYLORSVILLE — As the Kearns girls basketball team practiced shooting free throws this week, senior Brooke Larsen reminded her teammates every one was critical.

"I said, 'K, this is for the game,' " Larsen said after she made 3-of-6 in the final minute of the Cougars' first-round win over Fremont 50-49. "And then I missed."

She missed a couple, but she made just enough to give the Cougars, Region 3's third seed, the edge against a very athletic and talented Silver Wolves squad.

Larsen led the team in just about every way as she scored 16 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, dished six assists and snagged four steals. She even had a blocked shot.

"This feels good," she said of the first playoff win in her high school career. "It definitely feels better to be on this side (of a close game) than the other side."

The two sides were very evenly matched and despite a few runs by both sides, the teams stayed within range of each other the entire contest. Asked if they felt like underdogs against the No. 2 seeded Silver Wolves, coach Emily Williams didn't hesitate.

"No," she said shaking her head. "I told the girls, 'This will be one of the most evenly matched games on the first day.' "

Williams said the team practiced the very press break that they struggled with in the second half of the game.

"That was frustrating because we practiced it," she said. "Someone would get out of position and that would confuse someone else, and you don't play as a team when that's going on. I asked them if they wanted to press and they said no. So I told them they had to watch those 3-point shots."

Williams commended Fremont for its play, especially the guards, who kept the Cougars guessing and running. The third-year coach was ecstatic about her first playoff win.

"It's nice to finally get past that first round," she said. "It's a big accomplishment."

She praised Larsen for her passion and Orton for her poise.

"She's a pretty level-headed kid," Williams said of Orton, who added 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals. "Sometimes it's hard for me to remember she's just a freshman. She did a good job tonight. Brooke is a fighter. The other girls feed off of her emotion, and tonight that was a good thing."

Ashley Russell and Karli Muir led the Silver Wolves, especially down the stretch. Russell finished with 15 points, five steals, five assists and seven rebounds. Muir added 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Kelsie Bell, a sophomore forward, was big inside for Fremont with just three points, but she had six steals and seven rebounds.

The team missed her defense in the final minute when she fouled out of the game.

E-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com