(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Clearfield players huddle pre-game as Clearfield faces Hillcrest in the 6A High School Girls' Basketball Tournament at SLCC in Taylorsville, Tuesday Feb. 20, 2018.
Taylorsville • Frantic.
That’s the best word to describe Hillcrest’s 62-47 victory over Clearfield in Tuesday’s first round of the Class 6A girls’ basketball state tournament at SLCC.
This wasn’t a pretty game, but it was intense. Both teams pressed most of the time and knocked each other around more than a little.
“This is a team we played back in December,” Hillcrest coach Devin Olenik said. “We knew it would be physical. They have size and did a good job containing our inside game.”
In the end, the Huskies had a little bit too much of senior Cara Snowder, who scored 25 points and hauled down 15 rebounds in a heroic effort.
“She is a battler down low,” Olenik said about his 5-foot-11 senior star. “She is in tremendous shape. She may be a little outsized, but she gets a lot of cutbacks for us. She is our cog defensively. Everything we do runs through her.”
Snowder said she also knew what to expect after that early season game, a 56-43 win for the eventual Region 2 champions.
“When the game was in a tough time and they were beating us, we knew we had to get back into it and play with intensity,” she said. “We got the jitters out as soon as the tip.”
This turned into a game of spurts after a close first quarter.
Hillcrest used a 10-0 run late in the first half to break a 17-17 tie and never trailed again.
But the Falcons, led by the sterling effort of Haylie Anderson, who finished with 24 points, three assists and six steals, created more than a little nervousness in the fourth quarter.
Clearfield trailed 47-29 before putting together a 13-1 run. A 3-point basket by Cailin McGarry cut Hillcrest’s lead to 52-47 with 2:26 to play.
At that point, Hillcrest’s Taylee Allen made some big plays and Anderson fouled out. The Huskies hit enough free throws down the stretch to win it.
“They did a tremendous job of applying pressure in the second half and really taking us out of what we wanted to do,” Olenik said. “Hats off to them for making it as tight as it was.
“I was proud of our girls for sticking around, hanging on to the ball the last few minutes and gutting one out.”
HILLCREST 62, CLEARFIELD 47 <br>• Cara Snowder scores 25 points and hauls down 15 rebounds to lead Hillcrest to a win. <br>• Clearfield gets a big game from Haylie Anderson, who scores 24 points, gets six steals and three assists. <br>• The Falcons rally late, but Hillcrest rights itself in time to advance.