Orem • Logan’s Amber Kartchner had something to say right after her Grizzlies won Thursday’s Class 4A girls’ basketball state quarterfinal game against Spanish Fork .
And if anyone’s thoughts carried a bunch of weight on this night, it was the smooth freshman who scored 27 points.
“I think we can win the whole thing,” she said. “If people didn’t talk about us before, they’d better now because we’re gonna come in here and we’re gonna win this.”
The Grizzlies reversed course abruptly in the game played at the UCCU Center, much to the chagrin of the Dons.
An 18-2 run to start the fourth quarter erased a seven-point deficit as Logan raced to a 62-45 victory.
“We had a bad quarter. We weren’t hustling that much and stuff and we weren’t hitting our shots,” said Kartchner, who adjusted quickly to the neutral court atmosphere of postseason basketball. “Everybody gets a little nervous, but after I started warming up, I just shook it off.”
Spanish Fork (14-9), led by Kennedy Frame’s 14 points, bounded into the lead with a 10-0 run that started late in the second quarter and continued with the first four points of the third. The Dons’ biggest lead was 10 when Eliza Bowman hit a putback shot with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Logan (20-4) didn’t waste any time to start the final quarter.
Kartchner started the fourth with two field goals, and after a Spanish Fork turnover, Mia Marin scored another to trim the Dons’ margin to one.
A Taylor Rose free throw after she recorded a steal tied the game at 37-37 still less than two minutes into the period.
“You know, we went small. We didn’t have any energy,” Logan coach Josh Zentner said. “So we picked up the pace a little bit with the pressure. Taylor Rose, a freshman, came off the bench to give us energy, and what can you say about Kartchner in the fourth quarter?”
A brief reprieve came the Dons’ way when Brylee Rudd hit a free throw, but the Grizzlies then reeled off seven points in a row.
Kartchner, who also had eight boards and four steals, went 11 of 16 from the field, including hitting three of her six 3-point tries.
“She could be more selfish sometimes, like she was in the fourth quarter,” Zentner said. “She’s got a lot of talent, and we’re going to have a lot of good years with her.”
“Coming into it, it was really exciting,” said Logan senior Tori Craner, who scored 10 points. “We’re finally in a state game. We haven’t been here in my four years. We were nervous, but once we got into the roll of things, I mean it just flowed with us.”
LOGAN 62, SPANISH FORK 45 <br>• Freshman Amber Kartchner scores 27 points as Logan erases a seven-point deficit with an 18-2 run to start the fourth quarter. <br>• Senior Mia Maris also scores a dozen points, while fellow senior Tori Craner adds 10 for the Grizzlies. <br>• Spanish Fork, which led by 10 points late in the third period, is paced by Kennedy Frame’s 14 points.