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Mercedes Staples, Viewmont come alive after halftime to tame Woods Cross

By https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/sltrib/91e8bade-1cb5-408a-9c6a-7237edcf391a.jpg Brennan Smith
 | Jan. 24, 2018, 9:39 p.m.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Viewmont's Mercedes Staples as Woods Cross hosts Viewpoint High School girls basketball, Wednesday, January 24, 2018.

Woods Cross • Viewmont’s offensive engine, Mercedes Staples, sputtered out of the gate against Region 5 rival Woods Cross.

The senior guard, a scoring force averaging 22 points per game and committed to Clemson, clanged 3-pointers off the iron, overthrew teammates on fast-break opportunities and couldn’t hit a handful of layups that came her way in scoring only two points in the first quarter.

But Staples’ talent and 21-point effort helped the Vikings build a cushion to escape with a 12th straight win, 53-46, on the road Wednesday night.

“They tried to defend her, but she can get anything she wants,” Viewmont coach Clint Straatman said. “With Mercedes, it’s just a matter of her staying focused and making shots.”

Straatman said his team “played probably our worst game of the year” against Woods Cross, but the Wildcats weathered a rough start to close the first and second quarters on 6-2 and 11-3 runs, respectively, to build a 24-16 lead going into halftime.

“We have good senior leadership, and we had people make big plays when they had to,” Straatman said. “We’ve kind of been doing that all year.”

Staples came alive after the break. A smooth 3 gave Viewmont a 10-point lead and after a subsequent technical foul was called on Woods Cross coach Dave Simon, she knocked down two free throws and followed it with a coast-to-coast layup to go on a single-handed 7-0 run.

“I feel like I was just more confident in myself,” Staples said. “That first part, I just want to delete that from the game, but obviously you can’t.”

Viewmont held a 37-26 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but Woods Cross senior guard Olivia Barton, who led all scorers with 23 points, pushed the Wildcats back into the game.

Barton hit a pair of free throws to cut Viewmont’s lead to seven, followed by a big 3-pointer to cut it to four points, 48-44, late.

That was the closest Woods Cross would get, however, as Viewmont made 5 of 6 free throws to ice the game.

“We survived it, that’s probably a good way to put it,” Straatman said.

VIEWMONT 53, WOODS CROSS 46 <br>• Viewmont senior Mercedes Staples scores 16 of her 21 points in the second half to beat Woods Cross. <br>• Woods Cross senior Olivia Barton leads all scorers with 23 points. <br>• Viewmont wins its 12th game in a row and remains undefeated in Region 5.
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Brennan SmithMultimedia reporter/web manager

Brennan is a website curator, multimedia producer and social media manager with a specialization in video and sports content for The Tribune. He started at the paper in August 2013 after graduating from Arizona State University.