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St. George • After winning the Class 3A girls' state basketball title a year ago and completing an unbeaten season behind the Mills sisters and a fine group of seniors, Juan Diego has been in a rebuilding mode thus far.
The Soaring Eagle used their press and 3-point shooting to blast 5A Granger 68-46 in the Rock Canyon Bank Holiday Classic tournament at Desert Hills High School on Friday to even their season record at 2-2.
"Press and shoot threes," said Juan Diego coach Josh Archuleta. "That's the handle this year."
The Soaring Eagle, who lost 67-55 to Snow Canyon on Thursday on the first day of this round robin tournament, hit nine 3-pointers and got big games from Becca Curran and Brynn Drummond, who had 22 points each.
"We started off kind of rough, but we are getting better and improving," said Drummond. "This shows we are coming up. The past few games have been pretty good for me."
Mia Berenger added 12 and Anne Nelson scored 10 for the Soaring Eagle.
Granger stayed with Juan Diego for almost a half. But even when the Lancers, who were led by Mellissa Kadic with 21 points, briefly held the lead in the first quarter, it was obvious that Juan Diego's press was bothering them.
A 12-2 run early in the second half gave Juan Diego a big lead and the Soaring Eagle were never in trouble.
Archuleta said his team is still putting together some pieces. One player missed two games for a trip to Hawaii and he is still waiting for a transfer to receive clearance.
"This group, we're hungry," he said. "Last year was a great group with those seniors. We want to prove we can get the job done too. I'm excited. It's taking time, but it finally clicked. We were hit and miss, but we used three different presses tonight."
Snow Canyon 56, Pleasant Grove 42 • In a strange game of streaks, the 3A Warriors enjoyed the final one to stay unbeaten in the young season.
Snow Canyon raced to a 20-2 lead in the first quarter, only to watch Pleasant Grove pull itself up to within one at 25-24 at halftime. After a close third quarter that saw the 5A Vikings tie the game at 37, the Warriors got two big fourth quarter 3-pointers from Madison Mooring, who led all scorers with 22 points. After the Vikings cut the lead to 44-42 with 3:18 to play, Snow Canyon scored the final 13 points.
"We came out on fire," said Warrior coach Daniel Roden. "That's probably the best I've ever seen us play. I was impressed in the second quarter that they held their composure and came back on us, especially with two freshmen. They are going to be a really good team."
Nikejnna Durante had 11 and Shaylee Reed 10 for Snow Canyon. Malli Valgardson scored 14 for the Vikings, while freshman Faith Williams had 12.
Salem Hills 73, Desert Hills 60 • The Skyhawks prevented a 3A sweep in Friday's tournament by spoiling the evening for the hosts. Sophomore Lauren Gustin scored 26 points to lead Salem Hills while Ashley Beckstrand scored 25 and Ellie Williams 20 for the Thunder.
Twitter @tribtomwharton —
Storylines
R Defending 3A champion Juan Diego gets 22 points from Becca Curran and Brynn Drummond to smoke Granger.
• Snow Canyon gets 22 points from Madison Mooring to stay unbeaten against Pleasant Grove.
• Salem HIlls' sophomore Lauren Gustin contributes 26 points in victory over Desert Hills.