By Jon Clifford

| Special to The Tribune

Taylorsville • Jalissa Bagley admitted she played "terrible" in her first state tournament game.

Struggled on defense, rode the bench for most of the third quarter. Nerves were that bad.

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At a glance

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Storylines Alta 71, Pleasant Grove 64 (OT)

The Hawks go 13 of 16 from the free-throw line in overtime to down Pleasant Grove.

» Jalissa Bagley’s basket with 1 second left in regulation forces overtime.

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But the Alta senior made the team’s biggest basket of the season with 1 second left in regulation, and the Hawks pulled away in overtime to defeat Pleasant Grove 71-64 in Monday’s first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

"It was kind of a shock because I was playing terrible the whole game," said Bagley, whose jumper from 14 feet was her second of the game — both in the final minute of the fourth quarter. "I finally calmed down the last little bit in the fourth quarter. … When I hit the shot, I didn’t even know what was going on. It was like, ‘Oh, we’re going to overtime.’"

The basket by Bagley, a senior who transferred from Lehi last year, was Alta’s answer to a 3-pointer by Pleasant Grove’s Megan Wilde, which put the Vikings ahead 56-54 with 15.6 seconds left in regulation.

Alta coach Kristi Jensen said she didn’t call a specific play because there was so much time remaining. The Hawks (13-9) simply ran their offense — dribble, jump-stop, dish — until Bagley emerged open just inside the free-throw line.

"She’s not afraid to have the ball in her hands," Jensen said. "When she has it, she’ll do what she has to do."

Alta, which struggled mightily from the free-throw line a week ago in its regular-season finale, made 13 of 16 from the line in overtime and 24 of 30 in the game. Pleasant Grove (8-14), which scored the first basket in overtime, missed its next four attempts and lost Wilde, who fouled out with 2:06 left.

Alta advanced to play Layton in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

MeKenna Miles scored 13 points for the Vikings but missed most of the fourth quarter with foul trouble. Wilde scored a game-high 25 points, including 12 in a fourth quarter that saw seven lead changes.

Adrianna Jenson scored 20 points and Chloe Ferre made five 3-pointers for the Hawks. In the end, it was Alta’s markedly improved free throws that made the difference.

"We worked a lot on free throws [in practice] in competitive situations," said Bagley, who made all four of her free throws in overtime. "That helped a lot. … Mentally, we were able to focus through it."

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