This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Taylorsville • There was a moment in the third quarter of Monday's Class 5A state basketball tournament when the Viewmont girls were in danger of falling too far behind a good Riverton team.
But the Vikings managed to rally behind stars Mercedes Staples and Megan Carr to hold on for a 56-51 overtime victory.
"It was really tough," said Carr, who scored 20 points and contributed 10 rebounds. "We were getting beat up down low. I knew we had it. We needed to calm down and get our act together. We kind of got together, talked and it all clicked."
Viewmont coach Clint Straatman said a combination of a gut check on the sideline after Riverton had taken a 36-26 lead coupled with a blistering man-to-man defense and a second-half emphasis on rebounding turned around things.
"We were horrible rebounding the basketball in the first half," he said. "We have good athletes, so sometimes we stand around and let somebody else do the work. We made an effort to rebound the ball in the second half."
Another key might have come in the third quarter when Riverton star junior Morgan Kane, who finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds, picked up her fourth foul and had to sit while Viewmont rallied.
Staples, who finished with a game-high 25 points, scored two 3-pointers and a free throw to key a 14-2 rally that turned a 36-26 deficit into a 40-38 lead.
That set up a tense fourth quarter where the game was tied four times. Riverton got the last shot in regulation, but Kane's 3-point attempt fell just short.
In overtime, Carr got the first two free throws and Staples hit six of eight free-throw attempts. Riverton managed just two baskets.
"Sometimes the ball kind of bounces [the wrong way]" Riverton coach Ron Ence said. "It's not as if the kids aren't trying to do their job or rebound. … We did pretty well against a pretty good team."
Twitter @tribtomwharton —
Viewmont 56, Riverton 51 in OT
R Megan Carr scores 20 points and hauls down 10 rebounds for Viewmont.
• Mercedes Staples, who finished with 25 points, led Viewmont on a 12-2 run late in the third and early in the fourth quarters.
• Morgan Kane leads Riverton with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Brenna Blaser adds 14 points and Megan Krahenbuhl scores 11.