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Not every game goes quite as smooth as you would like it, but at the end of the night if you get the win, it seems to make everything a little sweeter.
Take the Spanish Fork girls basketball team, for example.
While the Dons looked sluggish throughout the first half, missing open shots and going 6-for-18 from the free throw line, Spanish Fork somehow managed to keep it close enough to take the game over in the closing moments of Friday night's 65-60 victory against Pleasant Grove.
"We missed a lot of shots and I think there is a lot to improve on, but we hit some critical free throws and got some rebounds in the end, so I was proud of my girls," Spanish Fork head coach Aubrey Johnson said.
Pleasant Grove led 28-25 at halftime and Jennifer Hamson kept the Vikings rolling in the third quarter when she scored on three possessions in a row to stretch the lead to 39-31 midway through the third quarter.
Moments later, Hamson was called for her fourth foul and Vikings coach Glenn Larson was forced to take her out of the game. With the middle open, Spanish Fork responded with a run that brought the game to 46-43 early in the fourth.
With four minutes remaining, Dons guard Jenna Johnson hit two free throws to tie the game at 51-51.
"In the second half, we were able to come out and really pick it up defensively," Johnson said.
The Dons became much more aggressive defensively throughout the fourth quarter, as they extended their lead in the final minutes.
But Pleasant Grove forward Whitney Giles scored her team's final 14 points to keep everyone on their toes. Giles was dominant on the right block, as she posted several different defenders and rolled to the hoop time after time, finishing with a game-high 22 points.
The Dons led 62-60 when center Natasha Sanborn got a key offensive rebound after a missed free throw. She quickly turned and found Brynlie Nielsen who was fouled and hit two free throws to ice the game with 18.4 seconds remaining.
"I always tell them that defense wins games and rebounds win championships, so they were doing that aggressively tonight and that's great," Johnson said.
SPANISH FORK (65)
Jenna Johnson 17, Aly Tingey 7, Nichole Adams 10, Natasha Sanborn 15, Jessie Anderson 9, Brynlie Nielsen 7. Totals 22 16-37 65.
PLEASANT GROVE (60)
Krystal Carter 7, Jennifer Hamson 8, McKell Miles 9, Katie Mitchell 2, Ana Finau 1, Natalya Parkes 4, Sarah Clement 7, Whitney Giles 22. Totals 20 16-28 60.
Spanish Fork 16 9 16 24 -- 65
Pleasant Grove 13 15 18 14 -- 60
3-point goals: SF 3 (Johnson 2, Tingey), PG 4 (Giles 2, Carter, Miles).
• Provo 56, Orem 51: At Provo, the Bulldogs used a stellar second quarter both on offense and defense to pick up the region victory. Provo held Orem scoreless in the second quarter, then held off a Tiger rally in the second half.
Sara Heaton had 16 points and seven rebounds for Provo (9-3, 2-2), while teammate Ashley Kuchar added 13 points, five assists and three rebounds.
OREM (51)
Voeks 9, Bailey 4, Larsen 10, Julian 19, Helsten 2, Plowthow 7. Totals 18 13-18 51.
PROVO (56)
Bosco 14, V. Cox 2, Faatoafe 4, Heaton 16, Ika 5, Kuchar 13, Nelson 2. Totals 18 18-23 56.
Orem 11 0 20 20 -- 51
Provo 8 17 20 11 -- 56
3-point goals: Orem 2 (Voeks, Plowthow), Provo 2 (Ika, Kuchar).
• Timpview 64, Tooele 48: At Tooele, the T'Birds caught fire early and never looked back, capitalizing on Alexis Kaufusi's game-high 19 points to improve to 4-0 in Region 7 play.
Kaufusi wasn't the only Timpview player to score in double digits as Chelsea Bridgewater (16 points) and Gabrielle Pinegar (12 points) reached the mark on the night.
TIMPVIEW (64)
Pinegar 12, Saxton 2, Bramble 3, Woodfield 6, Curtis 4, Bridgewater 16, Kaufusi 19, Kimball 2. Totals 26 11-23 64.
TOOELE (48)
Lyman 3, Haskell 1, Folta 8, Nigh 17, A. Bird 12, C. Bird 7. Totals 14 19-38 48.
Timpview 16 11 14 23 -- 64
Tooele 3 10 20 15 -- 48
3-point goals: Timpview 1 (Pinegar), Tooele 1 (Nigh).
• Wasatch 75, Park City 35: At Park City, Makayle Price (22 points) and Tara Gehring (21 points) powered the Wasps to a dominating road victory, keeping their record at a perfect 12-0.
WASATCH (75)
Parker 9, A. Baird 2, Carlile 2, Gehring 21, Price 22, Salazar 3, Pennington 6, Coleman 6, Cottle 4. Totals 25 13-19 75.
PARK CITY (35)
Figgie 3, Kubicki 3, Bailey 2, Bishop 4, Warner 4, Deane 6, Crosby 3, Pitcher 4, Kanten 5, Kohout 2. Totals 12 10-17 35
Wasatch 18 15 25 17 -- 75
Park City 12 7 7 9 -- 35
3-point goals: Wasatch 6 (Price 5, Gehring), Park City 1 (Figgie).
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