Highland pulls another upset, ousting Woods Cross to reach state semifinals

Taylorsville • Highland wasn’t satisfied with one upset.

See, the Rams were one of three No. 4 seeds to upset a region champion on the opening day of the Class 5A girls’ basketball tournament Monday. They pulled off another upset with a 51-41 victory over Woods Cross on Wednesday to advance to the state semifinals.

It was Highland’s three seniors — Lana Olevao (19 points), Taryn Johnson (11) and Misini Fifita (6) — who made the difference as the trio accounted for more than 70 percent of the Rams’ offense on a team that’s 75 percent underclassmen.

“We talked about that in some point in time the seniors have to have that leadership and they’ve got to make good decisions,” Highland coach Kurt Schneider said. “This is when we need it. Whether it took 20 games to get here or whatever it was, it’s here. They’re playing some good basketball, and I couldn’t be happier for them.”

After making a quiet contribution to her team’s first-round upset of Corner Canyon with five points, eight rebounds and two assists, Olevao was off to another slow start offensively with five points at halftime Wednesday. But the senior made her leadership known in the second half as the combo forward/center began to dominate in the post and on the boards. She finished with a game-high 19 points and 17 rebounds.

“It wasn’t going right at first,” Olevao said. “But the motivation to not only play for myself but my family and my teammates — and Highland hasn’t been to the final four in over 20 years — that motivation just set in.”

Olevao knew she would have to set the example for her younger teammates to follow after halftime.

“Growing up, seniors always set the tone,” she said. “Being a senior, to set the tone for our team and to lead them is really vital.”

Olevao and Co. really made their presence felt in the third quarter after trailing 20-19 heading into halftime. The Rams opened the third quarter with a 10-3 run and ended up finishing the quarter hitting 6 of 11 shots from the field to take a 38-25 lead into the fourth thanks to Taryn Johnson’s second buzzer-beating 3-pointer of the day.

“Last night we talked about how individually we have our special powers,” Johnson said. “They call me a shark because I like to hide away and when it’s time, I attack when [the opponent] is most vulnerable. I feel like whenever I need to hit those 3s and I just try to keep us in the game and keep us pumped up.”

Johnson kept with the nautical theme when she explained how fellow senior Olevao is essential to the effectiveness of “the shark”.

“She’s the water,” Johnson said. “She’s the one that keeps us in the game. Her presence on the court is what comforts us. She is our water. She is what keeps us alive.”

In the end, Olevao was who kept alive the Rams as they survived to play another day. Their reward? A matchup with arch-rival East in the state semifinals.

“I love it,” Olevao said. “I grew up playing with all those East girls, so it’s always a fun competition with them.”