High school basketball: Alta leads start to finish against Taylorsville

SANDY — Erin Foster wants to see the Alta Hawks do well this season, but not just because the junior enjoys winning.

"Of course, winning state would be my biggest dream come true, but I really want to do it for our seniors," she said after the Hawks defeated Taylorsville 65-38. "They had a rough beginning (to their prep careers). They talk to us all the time about how things have changed. I feel like I owe it to them."

No one is counting any chickens at Alta quite yet, but they are enjoying a 6-1 start to the season thanks to a more committed, selfless group of players.

"We all love the game," said senior Becca Beaudoin, who led all scorers with 30 points Friday night. "That's helped a ton. Every varsity girl comes to practice ready to work."

No one has to be ridden or encouraged to go harder, she said.

"We don't have to worry about the commitment level," she said. "It's not usually like that in high school. Everyone is serious about it, and that's the biggest difference."

The Hawks led the entire game, but Taylorsville only trailed 26-17 at halftime.

Saane Lo'amanu led the team on both ends of the floor to a solid third quarter, but the Hawks' offense overwhelmed the Warriors just a couple of minutes into the fourth quarter.

Lo'amanu led the Warriors' offense with 23 points and the young team did have some positive moments. Whitney Mitchell added nine points.

The Warriors came out in the third quarter and began to make their way into the paint more successfully. The fact that they relied on perimeter shooting in the first half was not by design, said head coach Jace Hymas.

"That's not because the coaches didn't want to go inside," said Hymas.

Distribution of the basketball was also a problem as one player, Lo'amanu, scored 13 of the 17 Taylorsville points in the first half.

Hymas complimented Alta on playing a great game.

"They're very disciplined on offense," he said. "We were off (offensively). You have those nights. Our shooting was pretty horrendous."

He smiled as he added, "And (Alta coach Kristi Jensen) is scoring for two."

Expecting her first child in April, Jensen laughed at the joke. She said they tried to front center Brooke Slade because they knew the Warriors would try to get her the ball in the paint.

"We knew 6-3 was going to hurt us, so we did something about it," she said. "They got some drives in the third quarter. But I had three guards with three fouls."

With four of five starters back, Jensen said the girls have learned what to expect from each other.

"They're starting to see backdoor cuts," she said. "They recognize more of the floor. Our 3-point shooting was not on today, but they penetrated and cut well and just found other ways to score. They're really growing up."