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Cedar City • Sometimes, the true test of a championship team comes from its ability to do the little things when a victory is on the line.
The Snow Canyon Warriors made their free throws and survived a frantic upset bid to advance at the 3A state girls basketball playoffs.
Shaylee Reed scored a game-high 21 points and the Warriors made 29 of 32 free throws in a hard-fought 55-49 victory over the Richfield Wildcats on Thursday afternoon at the Centrum on the Southern Utah University campus.
Snow Canyon improved to 22-2 on the season, but it was far from easy after they had built an early 16-3 lead.
"Richfield just came back and worked harder than we did in the second quarter," Snow Canyon assistant coach Ryan Rarick said. "We challenged our girls at halftime to get the rebounds, be strong and play physical. They answered the call."
Richfield (13-9) took a 22-20 lead over Snow Canyon with three minutes left in the first half, but the Warriors regained their composure with a 7-0 run and took a 29-25 lead to the halftime locker room.
When the second half began, the Wildcats didn't go away.
"We knew how Richfield would play and we practiced against it, but we knew as long as we played good defense, we'd be fine," said Reed, who was a perfect 15-of-15 from the free-throw line.
The Warriors made one field goal in the fourth quarter, but hit 11 of 14 from the line. The Wildcats made three 3-pointers, but didn't step to the stripe in the period.
"The free throws kept us in the game and kept us ahead," Rarick said. "We stress free throws a lot, and 29 of 32 is incredible. The girls are really focused and they want to continue on in this tournament."
Madison Mooring added 14 points for the Warriors, but sat out the final two minutes after falling hard on her tailbone going after a loose ball. Rarick said the senior will be ready for the semifinal game today against Pine View.
Reed said even though the Warriors lost their big early lead, they know it can't happen again if they want to hold the championship trophy.
"It worried us a little bit because we laid off and weren't playing our game," Reed said. "We knew we were the better team, so we just had to pick it up and play with our hearts."
Madisyn Daniels led Richfield in the loss with 14 points. —
Thursday's results
Pine View 67, Morgan 57 • Tayvia Ah Quin had 20 points and sophomore Saraven Allen added 17 as the Panthers (13-9) cruised past the Trojans and set up an all-Region 9 semifinal with Snow Canyon.
Kate Blazzard led all scorers for Morgan with 21 points and five 3-pointers in the loss.
Carbon 64, Stansbury 34 • The Dinos led 22-3 after the opening quarter and easily advanced to the semifinals with the convincing win over the Stallions.
Cedar 50, Juan Diego 45 • The Lady Reds got 16 points from Hannah Williams and 10 from Carley Davis to stretch their winning streak to 10 games (19-5) and earn a ticket to the semifinals by knocking off the defending 3A champion Soaring Eagle.