High school girls basketball: Springville takes down Clearfield to set up showdown vs. Bonneville

TAYLORSVILLE — Springville jumped on Clearfield early and often Thursday night, earning a convincing 55-27 win and a berth in the 4A state tournament semifinals.

The Red Devils started slow against Mountain Crest in the first round, but found themselves up 17-3 after just one quarter of play in the quarterfinals.

“Our goal was to come out strong,” said Springville point guard Savannah Park. “We didn’t do that in our last game and it really kind of killed our momentum. ... We don’t like to play from behind. We like to be in control of the game, so that’s what we tried to do.”

Park led the charge with a game-high 18 points and seven steals. The diminutive guard controlled the flow of the game on both ends from the opening tip and made sure her team was at its best for a full 32 minutes.

“She never stops,” said coach Nancy Warner. “She’s always giving 100 percent effort, getting in there defensively and taking pride in her effort. She’s always picking up steals, taking it to the basket and she was awesome for us today.”

Malia Nawahine added 10 points, and Brook Wheeler chipped in nine. Clearfield was led by Jacey Jones, who finished with a team-high seven points.

After the hot start, Springville didn’t take its foot off the pedal and outscored Clearfield 18-7 in the second quarter to take a commanding 35-10 lead into the half. Warner was able to pull her starters early, as a result, and rest them a bit for what looks to be a gigantic semifinal matchup against Bonneville.

Both teams enter with perfect records. Park admitted it's a game she's been looking forward to.

“It’s hard not to think about (Bonneville) going into the state tournament,” she said. “You’re undefeated and they’re undefeated and we’re (in) the same (bracket), so we’re bound to play if you keep winning. But we take one game at a time. We focus on each game and now that we’re here it’s nice to be focus on it and be excited for it.”

Email: bgurney@desnews.com

Twitter: @BrandonCGurney