6A Girls Quarterfinals: Bartholomew closes strong in Lone Peak win
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- Lone Peak senior Sarah Bartholomew goes up for a shot during the 6A quarterfinal game against Westlake at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Westlake senior Chloe Jensen shoots a 3-pointer during the 6A quarterfinal game against Lone Peak at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Westlake senior Austyn Feller drives to the basket during the 6A quarterfinal game against Lone Peak at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Sarah Bartholomew (right) and Westlake senior Austyn Feller go up for the jump ball to start the 6A quarterfinal game at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Westlake players celebrate a big play during the 6A quarterfinal game against Lone Peak at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Shawnee Nordstrom shoots a 3-pointer during the 6A quarterfinal game against Westlake at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Shawnee Nordstrom goes up for a shot during the 6A quarterfinal game against Westlake at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Sarah Bartholomew (left) talks to head coach Nancy Warner during the 6A quarterfinal game against Westlake at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Westlake head coach Charlotte Macfarlane watches her team compete during the 6A quarterfinal game against Lone Peak at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Westlake senior Jada Willis goes up for a shot during the 6A quarterfinal game against Lone Peak at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Westlake senior Austyn Feller drives to the basket during the 6A quarterfinal game against Lone Peak at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Westlake senior Austyn Feller drives to the basket during the 6A quarterfinal game against Lone Peak at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Lone Peak sophomore Kennedy Woolston drives to the basket during the 6A quarterfinal game against Westlake at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Lone Peak players celebrate a key play during the 6A quarterfinal game against Westlake at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
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- Lone Peak senior Sarah Bartholomew goes up for a shot during the 6A quarterfinal game against Westlake at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024.
SALT LAKE CITY — With her team in danger of losing to hard-charging Westlake in the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals, Lone Peak’s Sarah Bartholomew had a thought: “This isn’t happening today.”
Bartholomew made sure it didn’t.
The 6-foot-3 BYU commit took over the final four minutes and willed the No. 4 Knights to a 59-50 victory to advance to their third straight semifinals.
“It was kind of funny listening to the crowd,” said Bartholomew, who scored 21 points on 10 of 12 from the field while totaling 10 rebounds and three blocks. “They all got super excited for Westlake. In my mind I was like, ‘This isn’t happening today. This is our game.’ We always love games where we get in a battle with them. I just love my teammates and how much they always battle.”
Lone Peak took led 51-36 lead into the fourth quarter but uncharacteristically turned the ball over on four straight possessions. No. 6 Westlake took off on a 9-0 run, suddenly pulling to within three points, 51-48, with 4:01 remaining on a pair of Jada Willis free throws. The Thunder got a defensive stop and had a chance to trim the deficit but Bartholomew blocked a shot, then scored inside on the other end.
On Lone Peak’s next offensive possession, Bartholomew ripped down an offensive rebound and scored for a 55-48 advantage with 1:53 to play.
Willis scored on a steal and a drive to cut the Knights lead to 55-50. As the clock ticked down to the one-minute mark, Bartholomew made her biggest play of the game by fighting for an offensive rebound off a missed Shawnee Nordstrom free throw and converting a 3-point play for a 58-50 lead with 1:01 to play.
“It’s the state tournament and you’ve always go to expect everyone’s best game,” Lone Peak coach Nancy Warner said. “Sarah took over and we needed her to. We finally got to her about getting the rebounds she normally gets and establishing herself on the block. I think she really took that to heart and stepped up for the better, particularly in that fourth quarter.”
Nordstrom scored 16 points and had five assists for the Knights. Naia Tanuvasa contributed 10 points, three assists and six steals.
Tanuvase and Nordstrom were electric in the first quarter, with Tanuvasa swiping passes on defense and Nordstrom flying down the floor for layups. Nordstrom scored 10 points in the opening frame and the Knights went on a 10-0 run to claim an early 16-5 lead with 2:51 to play in the quarter. Westlake made four 3-pointers in the first period — two from Chloe Jensen — to stay close at 21-17.
Tanuvase and Kennedy Woolston scored on drives to end the half and the Knights took a 36-26 lead into halftime.
Nordstrom and Woolston scored on fast-break opportunities to end the third quarter with Lone Peak on top 50-36, setting up the hectic fourth period.
It was Lone Peak’s 12th straight victory against the Thunder, which last earned a victory in the series in 2019.
Jensen, a senior, paced Westlake (16-9) with 16 points and fellow seniors Austyn Feller and Willis added 12 and eight points, respectively.
“We talked before the game that the game is 32 minutes of basketball one minute at a time,” Westlake coach Charlotte McFarlane said. “We knew we were going to have some possessions, some minutes that weren’t going to go our way. We have to be able to move on to the next play, stay present and play in the now. You could see where our kids (when down 15) we’re saying, ‘We’re not going out this way. We’re going to fight every second.’
“I can’t say enough about the leadership of our six seniors. I took over at the beginning of the season and it was very clear the respect the younger kids had for the seniors was already built in. They’re irreplaceable. They’re obviously incredible basketball players but they are amazing people, amazing teammates and we just have to do our best to emulate what they’ve brought to our program.”
Lone Peak (17-6), which is going for its third straight 6A title, advances to the semifinals on Wednesday against the Davis-Corner Canyon winner.
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