This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Taylorsville • Savanah Hansen is naturally nervous. She felt the jitters all week leading to Mountain View's first-round game in the girls' Class 4A tournament on Monday. She was worried about the unknown in her first state tournament game.
But when the ball wound up in her hands, with the clock near its expiration in the fourth quarter, Hansen's anxiety vanished. With her feet resting on the 3-point line at the top of the key, she swished the Bruins into the quarterfinals with a 50-48 buzzer-beating victory against Maple Mountain.
"My coaches have been reminding me this whole week that I need to step up and be a leader, being a senior," Hansen said. "I was like, 'I'm going to take this shot and hope and pray that it goes in.' "
The shot finished erasing the 11-point deficit the Bruins (16-6), the No. 2 seed from Region 7, faced midway through the fourth quarter after suffering through a nearly nine-minute stretch without converting a field goal. The drought allowed Maple Mountain to extend its four-point halftime advantage.
"Third quarter is the quarter we struggle with every game," said Mountain View coach Alexis Kaufusi. "If we score 10 points in the third quarter, I'm happy. I don't know what it is."
Maple Mountain (16-5), the third seed from Region 8, was playing without leading-scorer Liz Eaton, who suffered a season-ending knee injury, but nearly led wire-to-wire behind Nicole Heyn (13) and MiKayla Hubbard (18), who combined for 31 points, but the offense sputtered in the fourth quarter.
Mountain View's defensive intensity correlated with the wild fourth-quarter comeback. Pressuring the length of the floor, the Bruins forced the Eagles into committing numerous miscues as their coaches yelled "patience" from the bench.
The message didn't register.
"We did it in a few games," said Mountain View's Tahlia White, who finished with a game-high 20 points, "but today we ran it really well and made some big plays at the end to turn it around."
Freshman Jalissa Briggs whittled Maple Mountain's lead to 47-43 with 1:45 remaining before White muscled a layup on the ensuing possession. Then, following another Eagles' turnover, Allie Warner buried a 3-pointer for Mountain View's first lead of the game, 48-47.
Warner, normally a reserve, captained the full-court defensive attack before hitting the triple.
"She is a ball of energy," Kaufusi said of Warner. "I put her in and I told her, 'Allie, this team needs a spark.' She did exactly what I needed her to do."
Maple Mountain tied the score at 48-48 with a free throw on the ensuing possession before Hansen's game-winner.
The Bruins scored 24 points in the fourth quarter, while the Eagles missed three free throws in the final eight minutes.
"I was pretty nervous," Hansen explained, "but I was like, 'Our team has put in so much hard work and we deserve to go to the next level in state.' I was super excited."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
R Mountain View overcomes an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit on Savanah Hansen's game-winner as time expires.
• Mountain View goes nearly nine minutes without a field goal before scoring 24 points in the fourth.