MT. PLEASANT– Alhough the skies were clear and the temperature outside was downright cold, a very hot storm moved its way over the mountains and into town Jan. 23 in the form of the Emery Lady Spartans as they blew

away the North Sanpete Hawks 63-38.

The game was not close from the opening tip as a tenacious Spartan defense trapped the ball at every opportunity and got their hands into the passing lanes, forcing the Lady Hawks into multiple turnovers.

Coach Hadley’s team have been playing some pretty good ball, but they found out quickly why the Spartans are undefeated in region play and ranked in the top five in the state with a 14-3 record.

The onslaught of defense and scoring left the home team Hawks gasping for air in the first quarter. The visiting Emery Spartans jumped out early and before the horn sounded to signal the end of the first quarter had taken an insurmountable 28-9 lead.

Give credit to the Lady Hawks as they refused to give up and battled hard all game long. North Sanpete struggled to hit shots from the field, but they did have one of their better shooting nights from the free throw line as they hit 13 for 21 for 61 percent.

While that might not sound like a huge number, it is almost 10 percent higher than what they have been able to hit in past games.

The Spartans began to cool down some in the second quarter as the Lady Hawks picked up their defensive intensity. After their 28 point first quarter, Emery was held to just 13 points in the second stanza.

The Lady Hawks were only able to muster another nine points, and the half ended with a 41-18 Spartan advantage.

Emery only had two players in double figures. Jody Lundell was on fire from the outside and finished with 13 points, while her teammate, Rasmussen was able to get free in the post for 14. Nine Spartan players put points on the board.

For North Sanpete, Fountain Green junior Erika May was the only Lady Hawk in double figures as she accounted for 17 points and also had 13 boards. Sophomore Nicole Gordon came off the bench to add nine points.

Another bright spot for North Sanpete was their ability to outscore the Spartans 15-9 in the final quarter.

The Lady Hawks welcomed the Lady Dinos into the gym on Tuesday night (results not available at press time). They will later play against the Juan Diego Soaring Eagle in Draper.

Starting the second half of the region season strong will be essential for North Sanpete as they are stuck in a bottleneck as Delta and Juan Diego only have one win each and Carbon has two.

The Lady Hawks are tied for third with a 1-3 record and victories are at a premium as the season winds its way to a close.

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