Lady Spartans rock Dinos and Rabbits

By GARY ARRINGTON Sports Writer

Although Emery had to defeat Delta first and Carbon had to get by North Sanpete, Emery and Carbon staged another of their classic girl’s basketball matchups last Thursday night in the Spartan Center.
Carbon High School had been ranked number one in the state most of the pre-season after they had won all but one ball game. Emery, although highly regarded, had played a tough preseason schedule and had won six of those 10 games. This game had all the makings of a classic contest and the fans were not let down.
Carbon plays an aggressive, physical attack game while the Spartans concentrate on a good full court press and then a good man-to-man defense.
Emery scored the first four points of the game but the Dinos scored the next eight points to grab a lead that they would hold for three quarters.
Carbon led 13-11 at the end of the first quarter and 24-22 at the half. The second quarter was not good for Emery. Emery went four for 11 at the free throw line. They had too many turnovers and seemed to make one too many passes as they stayed in the game but most fans didn’t know how.
The turnovers continued in the third quarter as the Carbon defense continued harassing the Emery ball handlers. Emery did tie the score at 28-28 before the Dinos would score the last five points of the period.
Emery was down 37-31 after Coach Steven Gordon picked up a technical foul that fans thought had doomed the team. Emery scored the next five points of the game to trail 37-36. Frankie Komar hit a pair of free throws to give Emery their first lead since early in the ball game with less than two minutes left in the game. With 1:29 left, Carbon turned the ball over and Emery proceeded to run time off the clock. With 1:01 left, Jodi Robertson was fouled and she made one of two and Emery led 39-37. After a missed Carbon shot, Jodi was fouled again and she made both free throws with :42 left. Frankie then added two free throws and Jodi added two more free throws as the Spartan scored the last 14 points of the contest and grabbed the win.
Robertson led the team with 13 points including her last 5 free throws. Jodi also had three assists and three steals. Komar scored six points in the game, all at the free throw line, and had three assists and two steals.
Sophomore Jessica Murray played probably her best game as an Emery Spartan as she played a steady game throughout and scored 10 points. Her five points in the first quarter kept Emery in the game. Jessica also had four steals in the game as she defended pretty well.
ShiAnne Allred only scored two points but she led the team with seven rebounds. Abbie Kay scored seven points, Taylor Mann scored six points and Tiffany Tuttle scored one point.
Before the game, Emery Coach Gordon stated, “the team that takes care of the ball will win this game.” Carbon did the first three and a half quarters but Emery did at the end.
After the game Coach Gordon talked to his players, “That was a good job, we played scared most of the game but we showed character, we showed guts in the end. For most of the game we didn’t execute well, we didn’t rebound well but we got the win, good job. That was an intense ball game. Congratulations.”
Against Delta, Emery took an 18-11 first quarter lead despite having seven first quarter turnovers. The second quarter was all Emery as they won the period 23-7 to open up a 23-point lead. Jodi hit three 3-pointers in a row in about a 28 second time frame and Abbie had four baskets and a free throw as both players finished the period with nine points.
Abbie led the team in scoring with 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Jodi scored 11 points and had five assists. ShiAnne scored seven points and had four rebounds. Frankie also scored seven points, had three rebounds and sixassists. Tiffany scored four points and had five rebounds and Taylor scored two points and had four rebounds. Jessica had four points and Markette Tanner had a 3-pointer.
Emery was 19 for 34 from the field and five for 11 behind the arc. Emery was also seven of 14 at the free throw line. Emery travels to North Sanpete Tuesday and hosts Salem Hills this Thursday in the Spartan Center.