Victories have been hard to come by lately for Canyon View, but slowly and surely the team is taking steps in the right direction.
The Falcons rallied in the third quarter Thursday to narrow a big halftime deficit at home against Juab, but ultimately suffered their eleventh straight defeat by a count of 40-26.
Abbie Corry and Amber Francisco each scored nine points to help Canyon View outscore the Wasps 17-15 in the second half but it wasn’t enough to secure a win.
“Tonight we learned that we can’t do it as individuals,” Francisco said. “We have to do it together. One player can’t be on fire; it has to be the whole team.”
For a few moments in the third quarter, Canyon View played like a complete team, overcoming a difficult stretch that saw them go almost 15 minutes without hitting a bucket.
“We knew we had to turn it around,” Corry said of the team’s mindset during halftime after the Falcons went the entire second quarter without making a shot and trailed 25-9. “Coach (Jared Sanders) just asked us to give more of an effort and do the little things.”
The team responded to Sanders’ plea and came out ready to play after the break.
After missing their first three shots in the third quarter the Falcons hit five of their next eight and outscored Juab 12-9 over the rest of the frame.
“I said to the team ‘We’ve got to get it done,'” Francisco said. “So I came out with the mindset to come out strong and not give up on each other.”
Corry led the team with four points in the period while Francisco, Kylie Slack and Bailey Potter each added a shot.
“I feel like our intensity was better (in the second half),” Corry said. “We definitely played better as a team.”
But even with the improvement in shooting, Juab’s Hannah Robins made things difficult for Canyon View and they scored just five points in the final quarter.
The 6-foot-2 sophomore was able to hold her position down low and blocked several shots while also getting free offensively in the paint and helping Juab keep the lead with some easy layups.
Coupled with a strong performance from senior Rylee Bryan who sunk a trio of three-point shots, the pair combined for 28 points and the Wasps cruised to a win in their first Region 12 game.
With an 0-2 region record and six games still left to play, Sanders is doing all he can to focus on the good things that are happening.
“We can focus on the negative things, or we can try to pull ourselves up with the positives,” Sanders said. “That’s just where we are. We’ve got to change our ways and look at the things we’re doing right.”
Even amid the trials, his girls know things are bound to change.
“In the end we’re going to piece it together like a puzzle,” Francisco said. “We just have to figure it all out. Every member of the team is a part of that puzzle and it’s got to come together sometime.”
SNOW CANYON 48, PINE VIEW 37
Madison Mooring scored 18 points, and Shaylee Reed added 16 to lead the Snow Canyon Warriors (2-0 in Region 9) over the Pine View Panthers, 48-37. Saraven Allen led Pine View with nine points.
Snow Canyon’s next game is away at Hurricane on Tuesday. Pine View is away at Cedar the same day.
DESERT HILLS 50, CEDAR 36
Ashley Beckstrand dominated the battle of superstars with a 22-point performance to lead the Desert Hills Thunder over the Cedar Lady Reds, 50-36. Kylie Williams added 12 points. Dream Weaver led Cedar with 10 points.
Desert Hills plays at Dixie on Tuesday. Cedar hosts Pine View.
HURRICANE 40, DIXIE 30
Jayden Langford scored 14 points on two made 3-pointers to lead the Hurricane Tigers over the Dixie Flyers, 40-30. Taylor Whitson led Dixie with 13 points.
Dixie plays at Desert Hills on Tuesday. Hurricane hosts Snow Canyon.
