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Orem • The Mountain View girls' basketball team closed the second quarter with a huge spurt to take control of the Region 7 opener and the Bruins went on to outlast a physical Timpview team 45-38 Friday evening.
A pair of sophomore guards got the Thunderbirds off to a fast start. Behind the leadership of Jasmine Espinoza and Ella Pope, Timpview managed to build a 19-9 advantage at the 6:37 mark of the second period.
Mountain View coach Alexis Kaufusi called a timeout at that point, and when her players returned to the court, they scored 16 unanswered points. The Bruins led 25-20 at the break.
The third quarter was a rugged defensive battle that yielded just four points for the home squad and two for the visitors.
Mountain View quickly pushed the advantage to 11 with a bucket from sophomore guard Lavender Briggs and a pair of free throws from junior guard Tahlia White.
This time, it was the Thunderbirds who responded. Espinoza scored a quick deuce and Pope fed a defensive board to sophomore guard Kealani Neves for a layup.
The deficit shrank to just five points when senior guard Sierra Neves canned a trey with 1:10 to play, but the Bruins made their free throws down the stretch and Timpview could get no closer.
Espinoza led the Thunderbirds with 15 points, including three triples, and Pope added 10 points. Timpview went 7 of 8 at the line.
For the victors, White posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds and also had six steals. Briggs added five points and six boards in limited minutes. Junior forward Skye Lindsay had a great outing, contributing 12 points and five rebounds.
"Sometimes the girls make a simple game harder than it needs to be, but I guess that's what teenagers do," Kaufusi said. "We didn't play a bad game, but it certainly wasn't our best."
The coach was pleased at how some of her players stepped up to fill in for team top scorer Briggs, who has been very sick and didn't play much in this game.
"Our guards especially did a good job," Kaufusi said. "Timpview isn't a tall team but they're tough. We committed more than 20 turnovers but we were still able to win. We found a way to grind it out." —
Mountain View 45, Timpview 38
R The Mountain View girls fall behind Timpview by double digits early in the second quarter but rally to beat the Thunderbirds in the Region 7 opener.
• Bruin leading scorer Lavender Briggs plays less than 10 minutes in the game due to illness.