No. 14-seed Provo girls basketball edges No. 19 Pine View in 4A first-round thriller
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- Provo junior Naomi Martinez drives to the basket during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo players celebrate after winning the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo junior Izabelle Moyes goes up for a layup during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo senior Jocelyn Snyder shoots a 3-pointer during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo players celebrate a made 3-pointer during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo senior Elise Fale goes up for a shot during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo junior Naomi Martinez goes up for a layup during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo senior Alyssa Martin (4) plays defense during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo senior Josie Denton shoots a 3-pointer during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo senior Elise Fale (right) goes up for the jump ball during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo senior Taiana Albert shoots a 3-pointer during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
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- Provo head coach Amanda Barker (right) encourages senior Josie Denton during the 4A first round game against Pine View in Provo on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.
Provo junior forward Naomi Martinez had an enormous amount of pressure on her shoulders as she stepped up to the free throw line.
Her Bulldogs were clinging to two-point lead with under 20 seconds left in Tuesday’s 4A first round playoff game against Pine View in Provo — and just 40 seconds earlier she had had two of her foul shots roll out.
But Martinez had a plan.
“My mom always tells me that I’m the only one in the gym, just block out everything,” Martinez said. “That’s what I did. It was just me and the basket.”
She calmly drained both of her shots from the charity stripe.
“I was really relieved (to see them go in,” Martinez said. “I was like, ‘thank you! thank you!’ Getting to the foul like helped us.”
Her clutch shots turned out to be enormous as the Panthers nearly rallied, but Provo held on for the nail-biting 47-46 victory to keep their season alive.
“You have to trust the process,” Bulldog head coach Amanda Barker said. “Pine View played a really good game. They are tricky because you play that team that we played tonight or you can play a really different team. They showed up and every one of their kids played hard. That surprised us a little bit but the kids kept battling. I’m proud of them.”
She said even though Martinez had a couple of foul shots that didn’t go, she felt confident having her at the line.
“Naomi is probably our best free throw shooter,” Barker said. “We had to have those points. But that is what practice is all about. I have seen her shoot so well in practice, so I wasn’t stressed. I felt that there was no way she was going to miss two more.”
While the shots did go in, the response to Martinez’s free throws showed the Panther resolve.
Pine View set up a play and sophomore Casey Morley drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one with under 10 seconds left.
Provo quickly got the ball inbounds and got fouled with 6.7 seconds on the clock. The Bulldogs took a timeout and Barker said the message to her team was simple, no matter what happened with the free throws.
“We wanted to contain and make them run the clock out,” Barker said. “That’s a long ways to go in six seconds, particularly if you are discombobulated and trying to find an outlet. We also said no fouls. Let’s get the W.”
The free throws refused to drop but Provo didn’t make it easy for the Panthers to get a good shot. Pine View got the ball to junior Claire LeFevre, who had scored 12 points including a 3-pointer.
But Martinez was determined to make it as tough of a buzzer-beater as possible.
“I knew she was going to take that shot,” Martinez said. “She shot it from way out there. I just wanted to get a hand up and not foul. And it missed.”
Wild shots do occasionally go in. This time, however, it harmlessly hit off the backboard as time expired, allowing Provo to start celebrating.
“I hated it (that they had that shot),” Barker said. “But then I loved it.”
The Bulldogs had a good reason to savor the win, since Barker said that was the first postseason win her program has had in four or five years.
“These kids were ready,” Barker said. “They were composed. The energy and focus was there. I’m just glad it ended the way it did.”
Martinez said she felt like every player deserved credit for helping Provo get the victory.
“Our team is bigger than just one person,” Martinez said. “It’s a team effort. We all play a big part in this game.”
Martinez finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs, while junior Izabelle Moyes added 11 points including three big 3-pointers.
LeFevre and sophomore Reese Gustin (11 points) led the way for the Panthers but despite the valiant effort, Pine View (4-19) saw its season come to an end.
With the win, Provo (10-13) moves on to the second round of the 4A playoffs. The Bulldogs will head on the road to play at No. 3 Cedar on Thursday at 7 p.m. with a spot in next week’s quarterfinals on the line.
“We’ve just got to go play our game,” Barker said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. Sometimes that’s the best way to be. We need to play tough defense and box out. We need to go play to win, not to not lose.”
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