Girls basketball: Springville whips Herriman

On Nov. 30, I covered the Springville at Herriman girls basketball game. It was an opportunity to see Springville play in the Salt Lake Valley and I had deliver the Red Devils' yearbooks. Here is the article that will appear in this year's Springville yearbook.

By Bruce Smith

Matchup

            In Springville’s opener, it was Malia Nawahine who led the team to victory. Savannah Park sat on the bench, nursing an injury.

            Ten days later, it was Park’s turn. The 5-foot-2 junior guard scored 19 points and led the Red Devils to a convincing 69-44 win Friday night over Herriman.
            “Savannah makes things happen,” said Springville coach Nancy Warner. “Her nickname is ‘spark.’ She rebounds, takes the ball out of other kids’ hands. You name it.”
            She did it that – and more - against the Mustangs, who have happily put the Devils on their schedule each season in their three-year history. Herriman coach Jill Ames said her team’s goal is to make it to the 4A state tournament and playing the best teams in the preseason helps prepare them.
            “We’re not going to play a better team than them this year,” Ames said. “They’ve made it to the (4A) championship game the last three years. Tonight, we learned we have to play a full 32 minutes.”
            For Herriman, now 0-2, playing 32 minutes wouldn’t have mattered. The Devils put this game away early, thanks to a defense that forced 19 turnovers and an enterprising offense that got off to a quick start, scored 24 points in the first quarter. Nawahine finished with 17 points, but she and Park seemed to be playing at a higher level than their opponent.
            Nawahine, who had 29 points in the opener, had 15 of her points in the first half. The Devils led 24-13 after the first quarter, but limited Herriman without a basket in the second period and continued to build the margin.
            Herriman’s bright spot came in the fourth quarter, when the Mustangs outscored Springville 20-17. At one point, Ames took all of her starters out of the game and asked them if they were playing their best.
            “They all had a chance to think,” she said. “If they weren’t, I’ve got other players on the team who will try.”
            The Mustangs had trouble matching up with Springville’s talent and size. Junior Brooke Wheeler, at 6-3, finished with five points and eight rebounds and was constantly a factor underneath. Springville led by as many as 32 points and coach Warner substituted freely near the end.
            “That Alta game … we had a lot of jitters,” Warner said. “We were excited to play again. We fine-tuned a lot of our mistakes.”
            Warner praised Park, Nawahine and Kate Hullinger, who came off the bench and finished with five points. Ten different players got into the game and eight scored. The Devils shot 57.7 percent from the field and had an impressive inside-outside game, making 5-of-11 (45.4 percent) from three-point range.