This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Class 3A boys and girls basketball tournaments have been a north-south affair the past two seasons.
Morgan, a northern team, has captured the previous two boys championships while St. George-area Desert Hills, Dixie and Snow Canyon have won the previous three girls titles.
This season, Draper Catholic school Juan Diego enters the tournament with the top-ranked boys and girls teams.
The boys' tournament begins Friday with higher-seeded teams hosting games at home sites. The girls start Saturday with games at home sites (Juan Diego's girls play Friday).
Then both tournaments move to the Maverik Center in West Valley City for quarterfinal, semifinal and title games Feb. 26-28.
And it's that home game that has to worry the Juan Diego girls.
The Soaring Eagle girls bring a perfect 21-0 record into the tournament. In twin sisters Dominique and Monique Mills, Juan Diego also brings two of the state's top girls into the tournament.
That said, Juan Diego has struggled, in recent years surviving that first-round game. Last year, as the second-place team from Region 10, the Soaring Eagle lost their home play-in game to Carbon. A year earlier, they won the league title, only to lose at home to fourth-place Dixie, which went on to capture the state title.
Another thing to consider is that Juan Diego has never won a girls' basketball championship.
Should Juan Diego get past its opening-round game, it should expect to face challenges from Region Nine champion Cedar City, Region 11 winner Bear River and Region 12 champ Carbon. Defending state champion Desert Hills should also be in the mix.
Cedar City, a balanced and unselfish outfit led by junior Courtney Morley, finished unbeaten in always tough Region Nine and brings an 18-3 mark into the tournament. Bear River is 15-5, and Carbon is 15-7, while Desert Hills is 14-7 and has to be considered dangerous in the tournament.
On the boys side, Juan Diego and star point guard Gabe Colossimo haven't been quite as dominating as the Soaring Eagle girls. But the boys were helped by a strong preseason schedule. With a perfect 8-0 league mark and a 19-4 overall record, they have to be considered the favorite.
Though Uintah has been improving and Bear River, Richfield and Payson are playing well, Region Nine figures to give Juan Diego its biggest challenge.
Pine View, which went 10-2 in league play and 19-2 overall, won the southwestern Utah league behind the play of Kody Wilstead, a BYU commit in football.
Dixie, at 17-5, and Desert Hills, at 16-6, both have the talent to challenge for a title as well.
Twitter @Tribtomwharton Class 3A Boys
Friday at 7 p.m.
Park City 15-7 at Ben Lomond 14-9
Cedar City 11-9 at Richfield 12-7
North Sanpete 10-11 at Pine View 19-2
Tooele 9-15 at Uintah 12-10
Juab 12-8 at Desert Hills 16-6
Grantsville 11-2 at Juan Diego 19-4
Union 7-16 at Bear River 17-5
Dixie 17-5 at Payson 14-9
Class 3A Girls
Friday's Game
Grantsville 7-15 at Juan Diego 21-0
Saturday's Games
Uintah 8-14 at Stansbury 15-7, 6 p.m.
Pine View 10-8 at Carbon 15-7, 7 p.m.
Richfield 5-16 at Cedar City 18-3, 5 p.m.
Tooele 11-8 at Morgan 15-8, 5 p.m.
North Sanpete 15-6 at Desert Hills 14-7, 5 p.m.
Union 6-15 at Bear River, 15-5, 4 p.m.
Snow Canyon 10-12 at Juab 14-6, 6 p.m.