4A girls high school basketball: Springville upsets undefeated Sky View to reach finals

TAYLORSVILLE — All season long Sky View had to live up to the No. 1 ranking in the state. They've been battling to maintain a long undefeated streak, which had reached 32 straight games going into the state semi final game against Springville. And they were right in it until the very end, but the Red Devils finally ended the defending 4A state champions' hopes of repeating and taking home the title yet again with a 55-46 victory that was much closer than the final score.

The game was physical from the opening tip to the final buzzer with bodies flying all over the court in the intense efforts to do everything possible to win the game. Both teams gave everything they had for the full 32 minutes, but it's the Red Devils that will be moving on to play Region 7 rival Mountain View in the championship game at 5 p.m. at Salt Lake Community College.

Sky View came out strong with a 12-4 lead after one, but then Springville fought back to get things to within 21-18 at half time. The two teams were even at 32 after the third, and it was a back and forth affair in the fourth until Springville finally took a 42-39 lead on their only trey of the game by Genna Brown.

The Red Devils held a 47-46 lead when Lexi Eaton drove to the hole and made the score 49-46. Then it was up to free throw shooting. Sadie Clements sunk 4-for-4 key freebies with under 30 seconds left to give Springville the cushion it needed to pull away for the win.

"I just had to concentrate and focus. I knew I had to put it in to move on. It was key to hit those. When the first one went in the weight was off my shoulders because it was a two possession game now, but I still knew I had to hit the next one," Clements said about the first two of her four straight from the stripe. Two more by Eaton, who finished with 18 points, finished off the scoring.

But it wasn't just some lucky free throws and lucky bounces that put Springville over the edge, it was a true team effort that the team put forth, helping each other and talking throughout the contest.

"The more we play together the better we're going to be. It's huge for us to be able to play together and to trust each other," said Springville coach Nancy Warner, who admitted the final 30 seconds of the game were the longest 30 seconds of her life.

Key rebounds in the fourth quarter also came in handy as the Red Devils fought for their huge upset.

And Ashley Kroneberger brought down several of those boards.

"Charles Barkley always said all you have to have is heart and position," said Kroneberger after pulling down 10 big rebounds. "We just kept going at them. We left it all on the floor."