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Taylorsville • The makeup of a championship caliber program includes the ability to finish. Springville watched its double-figure lead shrink to three points in the fourth quarter against Timpanogos.
As the top-seeded program from Region 8 and widely considered one of the top-three teams in the classification, the Red Devils were fighting off the fourth-seeded Timberwolves from Region 7, who entered with a losing record. The pressure solely resided with Springville — a pressure it embraced fully, as it closed the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run to blow open its 65-50 win at Salt Lake Community College on Monday.
"Timpanogos is one of those teams, they're always going to be scrappy and always going to be physical," said Springville coach Camie Oakey. "I think we responded pretty well, but it was a good test for us."
Timpanogos (9-12) milked long possessions in the first half, hoping to mitigate the talent disparity against Springville (20-2), but it backfired as the Devils quickly scored on offense, limited the Timberwolves to one attempt on defense, and gradually pulled away.
Consecutive triples by Springville's Lydia Austin pushed the Devils to an early 14-3 lead. She hit another 3-pointer with less than two minutes left in the first half to extend the Devils' lead to 34-21, which appeared to be the breaking point for the Timberwolves.
Austin poured in 17 in the first 16 minutes, including 12 in the first quarter, and finished with a game-high 22 points.
"Lydia Austin is a great shooter," Oakey said. "She kind of likes this gym, for good reason. She's had a lot of good games here. Anytime you have your shooter come out and hit big shots like that, then it's going to set the tone."
As a perennial powerhouse, Springville is looking to atone for its first-round exit last season.
"It's expected of our girls because they expect it of themselves," Oakey said of title pressures attached to the program. "I have the expectation that we play every single game to the best of our ability."
Monday's game, however, did not go without controversy. In the second quarter, officials awarded an and-one situation to Springville after a layup rimmed out, essentially providing two free points. Then, in the fourth quarter, officials mistakenly signaled for two free throws after Springville converted the layup. Players did not react after the attempt hit iron, prompting the officials to recognize the mistake and grant Springville an extra possession, which eventually led to two more points.
The outcome likely would not have changed, as Springville's defense dictated the final minutes, but Timpanogos, trailing 51-48 late in the fourth quarter, had an argument it should be leading by one point instead.
"A little bit," said Timpanogos coach Kawika Akina when asked if the two blundered sequences changed the game. "Even with those calls they missed, we were still in it. We were down three points with four minutes and we can't hit a shot — and it's good looks to the basket."
After slicing the deficit to three behind Angel Tuisavura (19 points) and Karen Christensen (16 points), Timpanogos failed to register another field goal. Olivia Park's putback after corralling an offensive rebound pushed Springville's lead to five. Park (13 points) added two free throws and a short-range jumper, Alexis Monson (8 points) contributed a transition layup, and Alex Sorensen (8 points) banked in three layups all in the final minutes to fuel the 14-2 run.
"It was a three-point game, and I said [to the players], 'You're the No. 1 seed. You're in this position for a reason. Now we have to play like it,' " Oakey said. "We had some people step up, which is huge, and it was just good finish."
Twitter: @trevorphibbs —
Storylines
• Springville holds off late Timpanogos rally to advance to the Class 4A quarterfinals on Wednesday.
• The Devils close the fourth quarter on 14-2 run.
• Lydia Austin poured in a game-high 22 points in the win.