Bear River defeats Judge Memorial, readies for Morgan

SALT LAKE CITY — It was a wild night Tuesday for the Bear River girls’ basketball team. The girls were able to pull off a 59-51 win over Judge Memorial and keep within striking distance of the Morgan Trojans, but it was not an easy one.

“We got in a lot of foul trouble in the first half. Kelli Smart had four fouls in the first half and two others had three fouls,” coach Van Park said. “Their crowd is raucous. It is a very tough place to play. It was a home court advantage. We let the crowd get into our heads and didn’t play very well.”

Jessica Olsen had 19 and Smart added 11 points and seven rebounds. Shaunie Owen led the team with nine boards while Karah Jeppesen added eight. The Bears enjoyed a 36-31 rebounding advantage. (No stats were reported for Judge Memorial.)

Park said the Bears finally sealed the game when sophomore guard Jordan Theurer made a critical steal and lay-up with about 80 seconds to go.

Now the focus turns to a Thursday night match up with Morgan at Memorial Gym at 7 p.m. The Trojans are 9-0 while the Bears are 8-1, with their only loss coming in Morgan. The Trojans are averaging 71 points per region game while giving up around 29. Bear River averages 54 while giving up around 50.

If Morgan wins its secures the top seed from Region 11. If the Bears can pull off the upset they would force a tie-breaker, normally a coin flip, for the top seed.

Greg Madson is a sports nut living in Tremonton. You can reach him via email at: sales@shopskybox.com