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Timpview sophomore Lina Ballin goes up for a layup during the 5A quarterfinal game against Skyline at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Timpview senior Brookelyn Eyre goes up for a shot during the 5A quarterfinal game against Skyline at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Timpview senior Maddie Edgington shoots a shot during the 5A quarterfinal game against Skyline at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Timpview guard Kim Saili drives to the basket during the 5A quarterfinal game against Skyline at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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Timpview sophomore Lina Ballin goes up for a layup during the 5A quarterfinal game against Skyline at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Wednesday, March 1, 2023.

Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald

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One of the toughest challenges a high school girls basketball coach faces is how to get their team on track when they simply aren’t playing how they are capable of playing.

Sometimes they try rotating players or switching defenses or running specific plays.

And sometimes nothing seems to get the team into its groove.

That’s what happened to No. 3-seeded Timpview and head coach Haley Steed in Wednesday’s 5A state quarterfinal game at the Dee Events Center in Ogden against No. 22-seed Skyline.

Even though the Thunderbirds had stretches where they made some plays, Steed never felt like they got comfortable and the result was a 58-46 defeat at the hands of the surging Eagles.

“Overall, we were flat,” Steed said. “It’s just disappointing for a state tournament game obviously. Credit to Skyline. They hit big shots and they got us out of rhythm with our zone. I just felt like we didn’t compete like I was hoping we would. I hoped we would go out there and fight and claw.”

There were a couple of psychological hurdles Timpview had to overcome, since Skyline was seeded so much lower and the Thunderbirds had crushed the Eagles in the season-opener by 47 points — although Skyline was without two of its best players at that point of the season.

That may have contributed to why the Eagles were able to get an early 14-5 lead, but Timpview appeared to be on the right track after going on a 19-9 run to go up 24-23 late in the first half.

But that was when things really fell apart for the Thunderbirds. They went ice cold from the field, failing to score again until there was one minute left in the third quarter even though they got a lot of good looks.

“One of the most frustrating things in basketball is when you’re getting shots and they’re just not falling,” Steed said. “That’s part of the game too. That’s basketball. At times you don’t hit shots. I felt like we maybe could have gotten to the rim better or figured out a way to get to the free-throw line. I felt like we got too timid like when we got down, too tight. We play way better when we are loose.”

The Eagles capitalized by scoring 17 straight points to take control of the game.

Timpview didn’t give up and cut the 16-point deficit to just 45-28 early in the final period. But Skyline center Tina Njike (who missed the earlier contest) scored five straight points and the T’Birds would get no closer.

Timpview had a number of statistical advantages, including shooting 14 more shots from the field. The Eagles, however, shot 52.4% from the field while the Thunderbirds only managed to make 30.4% of their shots.

The Ballin family — senior Natalia Ballin and sophomore Lina Ballin — paced Timpview with 12 points each, while senior Brookelyn Eyre tacked on 10 points.

Skyline was led by 15 points from Njike, while Cami Groberg scored 14 and Abbi Leonard put in 13.

Even though it hurt to be eliminated, Steed said this Thunderbird team should look back in the 2022-23 season and feel pride in their accomplishments.

“Obviously this isn’t the finish that we wanted to have but I’m very proud of my team for the year they had,” Steed said. “I hope they can look back at this year and be proud of themselves. They accomplished a lot. They had a great year and reaching champs and we want a very tough region. We went to Vegas and put a really tough tournament down there. That was a highlight. Overall, when you look at the season, how do you not feel proud of what the girls accomplished? Losing in the state tournament stings. Only one team comes out of this happy. We would’ve loved to be playing on Friday but I’m proud of my team.”

Box score

Skyline (58)

Bare 2, Groberg 14, Njike 15, Johnson 5, Leonard 13, Okoro 9. Totals 22 7-8 58.

Timpview (46)

N. Ballin 12, L. Ballin 12, Eyre 10, Saili 5, Galea’I 7. Totals 17 5-7 46.

Skyline 12 15 16 15 — 58

Timpview 5 19 7 15 — 46

3-pointers: Skyline 7 (Leonard 3, Groberg 2, Johnson, Okoro); Timpview 7 (N. Ballin 4, L. Ballin 2, Galea’i).

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