High school basketball: Lehi rebounds for win over Bear River

LEHI — The Lehi Pioneers went into their game against Bear River with high hopes of coming back from their first loss of the season and gaining a little momentum heading into Region 7 play.

Though they didn't come back with exactly the game they'd planned, they did hold on to defeat the Bears 39-36, improving their impressive record to 7-1 in the preseason with their next game coming against rival Westlake on December 30.

The Pioneers had hoped to do a little more damage in the game against the now 2-7 Bears, and they came out with plenty of energy in the first half, running out to a 24-12 lead. But then both teams decided to take an early holiday in the third quarter as each team picked up a mere six points, ending the quarter with a 30-18 Pioneer lead.

"We had some foul trouble and tried to play some other kids in addition to have two starters both out for the game," said first-year Lehi coach Troy Gifford, who is hoping to get Brooke Barnes back from injury soon. Jackie Cattani left on a family vacation prior to the game.

With those two players out and Gabby Granthem in foul trouble all game, the team counted heavily on guard Aerin Ogden throughout the first three quarters of action after she'd played an entire junior varsity game just prior.

"She played a tremendous game," said Gifford, who was also pleased with Anau Faleauo, especially defensively and on the boards.

Though the Pioneers would have liked to come back from their defeat to Judge Memorial with more of a decisive victory, they were still happy with holding on to the slim margin, especially after Gifford changed three players in the starting lineup.

"I'm proud of those kids even though it wasn't quite the expected outcome," said Gifford.

One reason the Pioneers lost much of their largest lead of 16 points was their inability to put the ball into the basket from the field, as they only managed to score on three field goals in the entire second half.

A solid night from the free-throw line ended up saving the victory as they finished 11-of-16 from the stripe while Bear River only managed to finish 8-of-20 on their own freebie attempts.

The Bears on the other hand, only scored three field goals in the first half before they really started getting the offense working in the fourth quarter.

Jessica Olsen led all scorers for the Bears as she took over in the second half and finished with 19 points. Teammate Karah Jeppesen also had a solid second half, finishing the game with 10. Shayla Buxton added five for the Bears, whose fourth quarter comeback threw a real scare into the Pioneers as they outscored Lehi 18-9 in the final stanza.

Katie Rogers led the Pioneers offensively with 11 points, and she was followed closely by Briar Sands and Ogden, who each dropped in eight.

e-mail: jolsen@desnews.com