Morgan Kane, an Iowa State commit, provides a powerful inside presence as Riverton prepares for state tourney run

Riverton • Minutes before her final home game as a senior, Morgan Kane stood in the hallway outside Riverton’s gym reflecting on the choice that brought her to this moment.

After attending The Waterford School in Sandy from second through ninth grade, a mentor suggested she seek out a public school to make basketball a priority just three years after she started taking the game seriously.

She embarked on her own unofficial scouting trip, watching the girls’ state tournament to decide which team to play for. Riverton’s intensity and camaraderie caught her eye.

“I talked to the coach after the game and said, ‘I’m going to play for you next year,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, funny,’” Kane recalled.

Now three seasons as a captain later, Kane is the unquestionable fulcrum of Riverton’s success as a playmaking center. As she goes in the Class 6A girls’ basketball state tournament, so will the Silverwolves.

“She’s just a leader in every way you want,” Riverton coach Ron Ence said. “Leads by example, leads vocally, leads skill-wise, work ethic-wise. A leader in all phases.”

An early speed bump

Kane would have to wait longer than expected to get a dominant senior season rolling.

She dived out of bounds to save a loose ball, collided with a teammate and badly spraining her ankle in just the team’s second preseason game against Alta.

However she unearthed a positive while on the shelf for seven games. She started seeing the game with the perspective of a guard, which caused her to better recognize the challenge of feeding the ball to the post.

“I got to take a step back and look at all the plays that we go through and how to adjust to where I needed to be next time,” she said. “It was a good evaluation of the team and myself.”

Ence said Kane returned after the layoff looking like she had “turned it up a notch.” She had honed her vision from down low to beat defensive double teams by finding her teammates with an outlet pass or stepping out to knock down a jumper of her own.

She told her guards to yell at her repeatedly in practices when they were open to develop muscle memory and instinctive reactions of making that extra pass.

“She’s always been very solid with her back to the basket inside and also very confident stepping out and delivering a 12-, 15-foot jump shot,” the coach said. “There’s just no wavering of her confidence to make a play on offense.”

Momentum

Riverton (16-5) lost only two games in Region 3 against rivals Copper Hills and Herriman, but the Silverwolves rebounded to beat both to close the regular season on a five-game winning streak.

Kane attributes the team’s success this season to communication and talking through scenarios, bolstered by her vocal and physical reassurances when times get tough on the court.

“She’s got the personality that draws kids, and they’ll listen to her. She knows when to be loud and she knows when to be quiet,” Ence said, pointing out that the instructions he normally would entrust to a point guard largely have fallen to Kane over the last three seasons. “That’s a good skill to have.”

When her teammates’ tempers flare or frustrations boil, she’s quick to reach out with a pat on the back or a “let’s go” to restore equilibrium.

“That’s just a big part of my game is reassurance. If you’re mad, I don’t care. Let’s go,” she said with a laugh.

What comes next

Kane is committed to Iowa State but plans to make some noise in the state tournament first with her physical post play complementing Riverton’s strong outside shooting.

“I think we’re going to do really well, but it’s a lot different,” she said. “It’s a bigger place, the lights are brighter, the music’s louder, the crowd is noisier and the stakes are higher.”

As the sounds of Riverton’s dwindling junior varsity game spilled into the hallway signaling it nearly was time for her to start warming up, Kane’s exuberance for her final home game – and what comes next in her burgeoning basketball career – was palpable.

“It’s exciting to see where I’m going and to see where I’ve come from,” she said. “You just keep growing and developing.”