A basketball is photographed at the Cottonwood High vs. Hillcrest High boys basketball game on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.
Laura Seitz, Deseret News
No. 5 Emery 43, No. 1 Grantsville 41
The top seed in the 3A tournament has fallen, and in its place stands the team that was a titan in its own right not so long ago.
No. 5 Emery used a thrilling defensive performance and overcame a plethora of turnovers in an intense matchup to down No. 1 Grantsville, 43-41, and secure a berth in the state championship game.
During the regular season, Emery had sustained losses to just about every major contender in 3A, including Carbon, Richfield and even Juab, but the Spartans and Cowboys hadn’t seen each other during the year.
It became apparent quickly that Emery’s size advantage, led by Katelyn Nielson and Kenadie Maughan, was more than a match for the Cowboys’ quickness.
“It’s a big accomplishment for us, especially the way the season started,” Emery coach Jon Faimalo said.
“We had injuries and didn’t ever feel like we’d gotten going until the end of the season, but we were playing good ball at the end of the season, and that’s what’s important right now.”
Grantsville had the final possession of the game with two seconds on the clock, but knowing that no shot in the paint was a good one against Maughan down low, junior forward Baylee Lowder forced a contested 3-pointer that fell well short of the mark as Emery’s fan contingent exploded in celebration.
“It’s insane,” Maughan said. “Last year we didn’t do as well as this year, and our goal is to get a state championship, and we’re almost there.”
Maughan had just seven points for the game, but her presence in the interior made it feel like a lot more, especially in opening up opportunities for Nielson, who led the team with 15 points on a perfect 5 of 5 shooting.
Junior guard Kali Jensen added 11 points.
Defense ruled on both ends of the court, but in different ways. Emery used its size advantage to hold Grantsville to just 13 of 57 shooting from the field, but Grantsville used an intense full-court press through most of the contest and forced an inconceivable 32 turnovers, including 21 in the first half.
“At the end of the day, turnovers or not, we have to continue to play aggressive and grind,” Faimalo said. “That’s what’s most important.
“You can look at the stats all day. The most important stat is the scoreboard.”
The scoreboard took a while to go in Emery’s favor as well, but despite the harrowing defense of the Cowboys, the Spartans held them close and never trailed by more than six points.
By the second half, Emery had settled well into its halfcourt defense, rightly confident that they could handle any of the Cowboys’ shooters.
Grantsville shot a decent 8 of 28 from the 3-point line, five of which came from Lowder, but inside the arc, the Cowboys were stuffed, shooting 5 of 36 on 2-pointers.
Emery retook the lead for good in the third quarter with an 8-2 run to go up, 32-29.
Lowder led the Cowboys in scoring with 15 points from her five 3s, and junior Avery Allred had another 10 points.