Lead the way: Pleasant Grove girls basketball seniors set tone to hold off Springville
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- Pleasant Grove senior Sarah Newman shoots a shot during the non-region game against Springville at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove senior Amber Cook drives to the basket during the non-region game against Springville at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Springville guard Gwen Fales shoots a shot during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Springville junior Brynn Johnson shoots a shot during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove senior Kauata Tuiasoa goes up for a shot during the non-region game against Springville at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Springville junior Brynn Johnson shoots a shot during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove sophomore Tabi Clark shoots a shot during the non-region game against Springville at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Springville sophomore Bella Esplin shoots a shot during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Pleasant Grove head coach Lacey Larson talks to two of her players during the non-region game against Springville at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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- Springville head coach Holli Averett directs her team during the non-region game at Pleasant Grove on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
With two minutes left to play in Thursday night’s non-region game, the Pleasant Grove girls basketball team found itself on its heels in its home gym.
After the Vikings surged to a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the young, scrappy visitors from Springville had come roaring back with 10 straight points to seize the momentum and put the pressure on.
Which team would find a way to close things out?
When in doubt, trust the seniors.
Pleasant Grove got big performances from senior forward Sarah Newman and senior guard Amber Cook — both of whom scored baskets in the final minutes — to help the Vikings hold on for the 47-40 win over the Red Devils.
“It was intense out there,” Newman said. “Springville plays hard on-ball defense, but it was a lot of fun. It was a fun, fast, intense game. Intensity on defense helps build everything. If you have a really good defensive possession and you get a stop, it shows on the offensive side.”
Pleasant Grove head coach Lacey Larson said Newman and Cook played key roles in helping the Vikings stay in front.
“Sarah was finishing really well and Amber had some great steals and drives,” Larson said. “I thought they both did great.”
Newman knows that not panicking and keeping the rest of the team grounded when things are tough is one of the important roles of being a senior.
“When you are upperclassmen, your teammates look up to you,” Newman said “I think that Amber and I both showed up tonight in a big, big way.”
The two not only were important with their leadership but led the Vikings in scoring, putting in 15 points apiece.
And every point was needed in a game that saw wild swings and big runs.
“I think it’s great for them to learn because that’s really how basketball always works,” Larson said “It is a huge momentum thing. If they can see that we’re going to go on runs and they’ll go on runs, if we can just stay composed and be disciplined, when we get our run we can really ride it out. I think that’s a great lesson for them.”
On the other sideline, Red Devil head coach Holli Averett didn’t have any seniors to rely because there aren’t any seniors on this year’s Springville squad. It’s a new team still figuring a lot of things out.
“It’s totally different than other years because every game it’s like someone is kind of stepping up,” Averett said. “We’re still figuring out roles. The good news is we are young and they’re competing with each other, which is good for them. But I think it is honestly just game-by-game and day-by-day, we’re just figuring things out.”
She noted that there were plenty of chances for the inexperienced Red Devils to fold, but she was proud that they kept fighting to the end.
“We started off and it was 11-2, but we didn’t just roll over and die — which in some games we have this year,” Averett said. “But we actually fought. We kept coming back and fight, and I am proud of them for that.”
Springville was led by 12 points from forward Sami DeLlamas, while guard Bella Esplin added 11.
It’s still early in the 2023-24 season and both teams want to build from Thursday’s performance.
“We had lots of little things we’ve got to work on,” Larson said. “Defensively, being disciplined and not getting so many fouls is important. We had quite a few girls with three or four fouls. We have to be disciplined.
“We had a couple of our JV girls come in and play really good defense. They got some big stops for us. I think it’s a really good confidence builder for them to come in and see that they can contribute coming off the bench. It’s important for them to be locked in to come in and make those big plays.”
Averett said that although her Red Devils lost, it’s just another step in the process of building for the future.
“We talked about some defensive fixes,” Averett said. “Obviously, we always pride ourselves on defense. In some of our games it’s been rough, but we can fix some things defensively.
“And we’ve got to get a little more confident shooting. I think we are still in the stage where everyone’s kind of new to the varsity level. Shots are just rushed and they just don’t have that confidence yet. I think they’re getting there. It’s already been a big difference from the first game to this game.”
Pleasant Grove (3-2) will go for its fourth straight win when it plays at Maple Mountain on Dec. 12, while Springville (1-5) will look to get back on track when it hosts Corner Canyon the same evening.
Both games are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
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