Flying high: Skyridge girls basketball changes things up to beat Davis in 6A semifinals
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- Skyridge junior Cambree Blackham (left) and senior Abby Hymas celebrate after the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge head coach Shaylee Nielsen cheers a good play during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge freshman Ellah Oeser goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge junior Cambree Blackham grabs the ball during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge junior Shay Toole dribbles up the court during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge junior Cambree Blackham plays defense during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge junior Cambree Blackham drives to the basket during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge junior Cambree Blackham goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge senior Danya Perkins goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge senior Abby Hymas dribbles up the court during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge sophomore Merceius Mili goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge sophomore Merceius Mili blocks a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge senior Emily Larson goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge sophomore Merceius Mili goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge freshman Ellah Oeser goes up for a shot during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
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- Skyridge sophomore Merceius Mili (42) battles for the ball during the 6A semifinal game against Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
The No. 2-seeded Skyridge girls basketball team has a devastating 1-3-1 trapping press that forces opponents to make tough passes and often forces them to play faster than they are comfortable playing.
But in Thursday evening’s 6A semifinal against No. 3-seed Davis at the Dee Events Center in Ogden, it was clear by early in the second quarter that the Darts were ready.
Davis was slicing through the Falcon pressure and attacking, getting good looks. The Darts had surged to an 18-14 lead and appeared to be gaining confidence.
So Skyridge head coach Shaylee Nielsen decided to switch things up.
“We really thought that our 1-3-1 press would be the main factor in this game and they broke it — so we went man,” Nielsen said. “We haven’t been working on our man a whole lot.”
She said the Falcons had only gone to men “two or three times” during region play, so in some ways it was a gamble.
But, boy, did it pay off.
The entire complexion of the game changed in Skyridge’s favor as the Falcons intensity began to wear on Davis and shots started to fall on offense.
Skyridge went on a 23-4 run lasting through the end of the second quarter through much of the third and the Darts never recovered, allowing the Falcons to secure the 49-36 win.
“I couldn’t be more proud,” Nielsen said. “It was Skyridge basketball. We just asked them to win the controllables. It was their effort, their defense, their talk. We told them to get stops and the offense would come, as usual.”
Skyridge junior guard Cambree Blackham said that the key to the defensive change was to have faith that everyone knew what they were doing.
“I think a big thing is just trusting each other, no matter what defense,” Blackham said. “If we all give it 100%, we can pull it off. We know it is a game of runs. If they make a run, we have to come right back and keep going hard, no matter what the score is.”
The Falcons led 26-22 at halftime, so the outcome was very much in doubt at that point. The first few minutes of the second half changed that, however, as Skyridge stymied the Dart offense for nearly five minutes and scored the first 11 points of the quarter.
“Our big thing is the first five minutes to not give them any hope at all,” Blackham said. “If we can come out strong, and put it away, that can be a big momentum-changer.”
Skyridge ended up forcing 23 Davis turnovers and turning them into 19 points, while coughing up the ball 13 times itself but only allowing those miscues to turn into three points for the Darts.
“It helps to give yourself some easy looks,” Nielsen said. “We have players who are pesky. They flip the switch and just cause chaos, disrupting what the other team wants to do.”
Blackham ended up leading another balanced scoring effort for the Falcons, scoring 12 points. Sophomore Merceius Mili had nine and Ellah Oeser had eight.
Davis forward Kendra Kitchen led all scorers with 17 points.
The win means the Falcons earned their very first trip to the state title game, which is a huge opportunity.
“It’s so fun,” Blackham said. “We’ve never done this in Skyridge history so to be the first team, this is a new opportunity for all of us. So it is so fun.”
It will be an all-Region 4 showdown as the Falcons will face top-seeded Lone Peak, a team that defeated Skyridge in both league contests.
“We’ll have to make a couple adjustments,” Nielsen said. “Last time I feel like we competed really well. We just didn’t score a whole lot. We’ll go watch some film and see what adjustments we can make. I think a lot of it is just going to be it’s a state tournament, so anything can happen, you know?”
The Falcons and Knights are scheduled to play for the 6A title at the Dee Events Center in Ogden on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Box score
Davis (36)
Bull 9, Kitchen 17, T’Maea 8, Dain 2. Totals 14 7-11 36.
Skyridge (49)
Toole 9, Blackham 12, Hymas 2, Perkins 6, Oeser 8, Larson 3, Mili 9. Totals 19 6-12 49.
Davis 14 8 6 8 — 36
Skyridge 14 12 17 6 — 49
3-pointers: Davis 1 (Kitchen); Skyridge 5 (Toole, Blackham, Oeser, Larson, Mili).
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