Taylorsville • The Bonneville Lakers found themselves in a fast-paced but ultimately low-scoring game after one half of basketball Thursday.
The Lakers pushed the tempo, running fast breaks at almost every opportunity, but they looked careless with the ball at times and struggled to make shots.
But when they came out of the locker room in the second half, everything changed.
After Hillcrest tied the game at 19 apiece early in the third quarter of the Class 4A quarterfinal matchup, the Lakers torched the nets during a 20-2 run from which the Huskies would never recover. Bonneville went on to win 61-30.
"It wasn’t anything we said [at halftime]," Bonneville coach Mike Russell told reporters later. "They knew what they had to do."
Suddenly, forward Abby Toller found her touch from midrange. Guard Cortney Porter started knocking down shots. And by the time Kayla Eilertson had drained her third 3-pointer of the half, the Bonneville student section was chanting "automatic."
"We’re a pretty strong third-quarter team," Eilertson said. "Just having energy coming out in the second half is typically what we do. It was good to get that run."
Eilertson led Bonneville with 15 points.
The Huskies battled with Bonneville in the first half, led by Whitney Nemelka. But Bonneville switched to a four-player zone in the second half, leaving one defender to shadow Nemelka, who finished with nine points.
Emilie Volk, Bonneville’s leading scorer for the season, quietly scored 10 points and racked up seven rebounds as the Lakers got out in transition.
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"We’re at our best when we push it," Russell said of his undefeated squad. "And our team is very unselfish. They don’t care who scores."
Twitter: @aaronfalk
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