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The Lone Peak girls basketball team douses head coach Nancy Warner after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak players pose for a photo with fans after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak head coach Nancy Warner (center) hugs junior Kailey Woolston (left) and senior Teuila Nawahine after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Kailey Woolston shoots a jump shot during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak players and coached celebrate after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak sophomore Shawnee Nordstrom goes up for a layup during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Makeili Ika holds the ball during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Makeili Ika shoots a 3-pointer during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Kailey Woolston shoots a layup during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak players help up junior Kailey Woolston after she made a layup while being fouled during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak fans urge on their team during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak players celebrate after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak senior Teuila Nawahine shoots a 3-pointer during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak sophomore Stacy Bartholomew (left) talks to Kaylee Rich after Bartholomew fouled out in overtime during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak players celebrate after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Kailey Woolston (right) defends Fremont senior Timea Gardiner during the 6A championship game in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Kailey Woolston shoots a shot during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Makeili Ika celebrates with fans after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Makeili Ika celebrates after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak head coach Nancy Warner directs her team during the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Makeili Ika accepts the title trophy after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak players celebrate after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak sophomore Shawnee Nordstrom takes the floor before the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak junior Makeili Ika talks to reporters after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

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Lone Peak head coach Nancy Warner cuts down the nets after the 6A championship game against Fremont in the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, March 5, 2022. (Jared Lloyd, Daily Herald)

❮ ❯

The smallest player on the floor in Saturday’s 6A girls basketball championship game displayed the nerves of an assassin.

Now she, along with her gritty Lone Peak teammates, officially have the heart of a champion.

For the second time in this year’s tournament, 5-foot-5-inch Makeili Ika hit the game-winning shot for the Knights and this one couldn’t have come on a bigger stage.

Her jumper dropped into the net with one second to play in the second overtime to clinch a wildly entertaining 67-65 victory against No. 2 seed Fremont on Saturday at the Marriott Center.

The win not only earned Lone Peak a state championship but it was the cherry on top of a undefeated (23-0) season.

“It means a lot because it’s never been done,” Ika said. “Lone Peak has never had an undefeated season. The last time we won a title was 1999 so this is a big deal.”

Ika will forever be a pretty big deal in the Highland and Alpine area after her championship-winning shot.

With the score tied at 65 in the second overtime, the Knights ran down the final two minutes before Ika set the offense in motion. Lone Peak coach Nancy Warner said she thought about calling time out but trusted her team to run the play she called.

“There was an opening in the lane so I decided to take it,” Ika said. “As I took it the bottom person came up on me and I decided to shoot it. My freshman and sophomore year I didn’t have a lot of confidence in myself but coming into this game, knowing that Fremont was such a good team, I knew I had to have confidence in myself and and my team has confidence in me.”

Ika’s jumper grazed off the backboard – “I didn’t call bank,” Ika admitted – and went through for the two-point lead. Fremont threw a length of the court pass that was intercepted and the buzzer sounded, setting off a mad celebration in the stands and on the Lone Peak sideline.

Ika also hit the game-winner in the final seconds of Thursday’s 51-49 semifinal win against Herriman.

“Makeili’s option opened up,” junior guard Kailey Woolston said. “She went to the basket and did her job. She’s clutch.”

Woolston led Lone Peak with 26 points and six rebounds. Ika finished with 15 points, Shawnee Nordstrom added 11 and the Knights made 11 of 23 (47%) from the 3-point line.

Fremont is the defending 6A state champion, ranked No. 16 in the country on Max Preps and had won 49 straight in-state games. The Silverwolves’ lineup includes 6-3 McDonald’s All-American Timea Gardiner, who has committed to play at Oregon State, and 6-5 Maggie Mendelson, who will play volleyball and basketball at Nebraska next season.

Mendelson (24 points) and Gardiner (23) were as advertised and led Fremont (24-3) to a nine-point halftime lead. But Lone Peak went crazy from the 3-point line in the third quarter, getting six triples from Ika (2), Teuila Nawahine (2), Woolston and Nordstrom to close within three on Ika’s four-point play in the final six seconds of the third.

With the score tied at 54, the Knights ran the final three minutes off the clock but Ika’s 3-pointer was off and the game went to the first overtime.

Fremont took the ball last in the first extra session but Gardiner missed on a drive and Mendelson couldn’t convert two follows, forcing the second overtime.

Ika made a 3-pointer with 2:18 left in the second extra session for a 65-63 Lone Peak advantage and Gardiner tied it up again with a pair of free throws, setting up the final frantic two minutes.

“The heart of this team is huge,” Warner said. “I will say that something about this team this year is how resilient they are. Because when anything has gone against us, or our backs have been up against the wall, they have found ways to come together and bounce back, always. So I’m just proud of them for finding that today, to make it on top.

“Our focus has to be just on what we can control. So that was exactly the mentality, just playing Lone Peak basketball. We just live and die by playing our game and coming in with the mentality of we’re going to leave it all out on the floor. I can’t express in words how proud I am of them.”

Surrounded by teammates, family and fans, Woolston soaked in that state championship feeling.

“We just don’t believe in defeat,” Woolston said. “We needed to come back and win this one play at a time.”

Saturday was Lone Peak’s first state championship since winning the 4A title in 1999. The Knights played for the 4A championship in 2001 but lost to Bountiful and its star, Nancy (Seljaas) Warner, their current coach. Warner coached Springville to three titles (2010, 2011, 2013) before taking over the Lone Peak program in 2013-14.

One of Warner’s former players, Springville coach Holli Averett, won the 5A state title on Saturday.

For the first time, a girls championship game featured two female coaches and three female officials in recognition of 50th anniversary of Title IX. It was also the first time KJZZ-TV has broadcast the girls championship games.

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