5A Tournament

Pleasant Grove pulled off a major upset when they defeated third-ranked Fremont 53-45 in the first round of the 5A State Tournament.
Fremont was without leading rebounder Erica Nish, who was injured and played just a few minutes of the game, but the Vikings played a great all-around game against the Silver Wolves.
Led by Whitney Giles, who kept the Vikings close in the second and third quarters, the Vikings did just enough to stay close until the fourth quarter. Then they pulled away with some hot shooting from Mekell Miles, who hit a bak-breaking 3-point shot in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 points.
If an No. 1 seed has been beaten in the first round of the 5A tournament, it happened before 2004, according to UHSAA records. So what ws the key to the team’s success? Maybe it was the team trip to IHOP before the game Tuesday morning.
Viking coach Glen Larson knows a little something about upsetting a No. 1 seed. As an assistant for the boys at Pleasant Grove he was part of two upsets of No. 1 seeds – both against Olympus – in consecutive years. That was in the 90s.
Larson doesn’t consider it as much an upset as some might because he said his team was within a few points in every game they played.
“We’re a handful of points away from the region title,” he said.
Jennifer Hamson and Sarah Clement played well with eight rebounds each.
One thing is for sure, the Vikings are playing well and could easily get to the semi-finals on Friday.