4A high school girls basketball: Snow Canyon's attack mode too much for Highland

TAYLORSVILLE — Nursing a two-point lead at halftime, the Snow Canyon Warriors knew they had to do something different if they wanted earn a win in their quarterfinal game against Highland.

"We thought we were playing passive in the first half," said Snow Canyon head coach Wade Jensen after the Warriors defeated the Rams 48-34 Wednesday night. "We said 'We've got to be in attack mode.'"

And attack they did. In the second half, the Warriors forced 13 turnovers almost doubled the number of rebounds they earned.

"We knew if we could outrebound Highland, we could beat them," Jensen said. The Warriors had 49 boards to Highland's 28. Snow Canyon had 15 second chance points, while Highland had just four.

Senior Taylar Barney led the rebounding effort with 20 rebounds. She also had 15 points, two assists and a blocked shot. The squad went on a run of transition baskets thanks to man-to-man defense and a half-court trap.

"It's kind of crazy," said Jensen. "But our girls do better without rules."

Nearly every player who stepped on the court contributed to the team's win. Sophomore Riley Pearce continued to help spark the team with nine points, five rebounds and two steals.

"She's only started for two weeks for us," said Jensen. "She's just a sophomore, but she makes things happen. She seems to be in the right place at the right time."

Pearce said her first few games as a starter were scary, but now she's just having fun.

"I was way nervous at first," she said. "But now I'm just excited. I'm glad to have this opportunity."

Both teams got into early foul trouble, which may have contributed to the offensive sputtering.

"Our bench really stepped up for us," said Jensen. Kylie Moore added 10 points and three steals, while Liz Richs scored 10 points and earned three assists and three steals.

The Rams were led by Mixsa Kafi, who scored eight points, earned four steals, two assists and three rebounds. Chanel Roe added six points and five rebounds, and Kave Lea'aetoa scored six points and grabbed five rebounds.

The win allows Snow Canyon to move on to Friday's semifinal where the Warriors will take on second-ranked Mountain View at 2:30 p.m. The 4A championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m.

adonaldson@desnews.com