Piute and Duchesne advance to 1A girls title game

As expected, the semifinal round of the 1A girls basketball tournament was chock full of nerves, intensity and, ultimately, drama. At the end of it all, Duchesne survived a frantic finish to beat Panguitch, 46-44, in one semifinal, while Piute overwhelmed Rich in the fourth quarter to burst open a close game and win, 41-29, in the other semifinal.
Complete recaps of both games will be available on our Prep Page here..
For your viewing pleasure, here are a few extra observations from the Sevier Valley Center as we get set for the final day of the tournament tomorrow:
Whenever you’ve got a school that’s chasing its first state title in a sport, it almost inevitably becomes an obvious storyline. In the case of this year’s 1A girls basketball tournament, that storyline will play out for someone on Saturday, as neither Piute or Duchesne has previously won a state championship in girls basketball.
One of the angles that was perhaps overlooked in my game story for Piute’s win over Rich is the fact that, up until tonight, Rich has had Piute’s number in recent seasons. Yet when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, it was Piute that looked calm and cool in what was hardly a calm or cool environment.
Afterward, Piute’s mental toughness wasn’t lost on coach Wade Westwood, whose team finally broke through against Rich.
“This year,” he said, “we finally got them. They’re tough, they’re a good bunch of girls, they’re shooters and they’re aggressive.”
Duchesne center Tasha Reilley felt all the pressure in the world when the ball fell into her hands only a few feet away from the basket at the end of the Eagles’ game against Panguitch.
Her team trailed the Bobcats by a point with less than a minute to play, and she knew she had to get the ball in the basket.
Her ensuing attempted layup was contested, but she managed to bank it in.
“Oh my gosh,” she said afterward, “I was just like, ‘It has to go in.’”
St. Joseph junior Andrea Chavez reminded me today of just how much the consolation games mean to the players who are competing in them at this week’s 1A tournament.
Chavez is one of the best athletes in the state and has enjoyed tremendous success in cross country, volleyball and track and field, in addition to basketball.
Yet there she was at the end of St. Joseph’s consolation loss to Bryce Valley, crying on the bench after she fouled out in the waning moments of the game.
It was a poignant moment that made me realize how fierce of a competitor Chavez is and that, even though she’s been one of the state’s most successful athletes over the past three years, she still badly wants to achieve even more.