High school girls basketball: American Fork handles scrappy Fremont

AMERICAN FORK — The first game of a new season always brings up a few jitters for American Fork coach Corey Clayton, especially the first game of the season after his team won the 5A state championship.

"I'm always glad when the first game of the season is over," Clayton admitted.

Well, what he saw in that dreaded first game this year against the Fremont Silver Wolves left him mostly smiling and sighing with relief as his team rushed out to a huge lead in the first quarter and held on tight to defeat the scrappy Fremont squad 49-33.

"We came out and kind of hit them in the mouth right away, but they were still not afraid to spread it out against us," said Clayton, who was impressed with the way the Silver Wolves played.

After losing four impressive seniors to graduation, including three Division I players and a center who decided to concentrate on volleyball this year instead of playing on the basketball team, Clayton is interested in seeing what his still deep, but new-look team can accomplish.

Most of his top players were on the squad last year, but "the difference is that those girls have always played supporting roles in our cast. So I'm interested in seeing how they react when the game's on the line and we have to go to them," added Clayton.

And so far, the verdict is pretty darned good.

"Laini Kalumbi is just so good on the boards. She can really clean up underneath, and she'll most likely lead our team in rebounding all season long. She's just so athletic, and I think her first step to the basket is faster than anybody I've coached," he noted.

Another go-to girl is sharpshooter Amy Krommenhoek, who knocked down a pair of treys and 17 points for the Cavemen against Fremont. She played a large role in the starting lineup last year and is the only returning starter for the defending champs.

Sophomore Grace Farnsworth is also a solid player who played mostly cleanup minutes last season for the Cavemen but will now be counted on to fill a starting spot with the team.

The center spot will now be manned by Hayley Sua-Fi'lo and Shelby Carson, who Clayton thought came on strong in their first game out this year.

"We made some first-game mistakes, but I was impressed with how hard we worked. Even our mistakes weren't from a lack of effort," said Clayton, who is planning to have his team play this season the way it did last season — fast and furious.

And while he's optimistic that his team will improve and give the Cavemen a shot at reclaiming the state title, he also believes there are five teams in his own tough region that could challenge for the championship.

The Silver Wolves impressed him as well.

"They kept coming and coming. They press no matter what," he noted.

Kylie Allen finished with 10 points for American Fork, Kalumbi added nine, and Farnsworth finished with seven as the Cavemen nailed three treys but had a rough time from the line, which Clayton believes is just-first game jitters.

Fremont's Kelsie Bell finished with nine points before fouling out midway through the fourth period, while Rilee Rhees added eight.

e-mail: jolsen@desnews.com