Jasmine Hansen:
As one of the school’s
best violinists,
she recognized the Devils’ sweet music
By Bruce Smith
Matchup
Jasmine Hansen might be known best for the way she played
the violin. She was a special talent who began playing in sixth grade and
eventually earned a partial scholarship to Utah Valley University.
Hansen knows something about music, and the harmony she
felt playing basketball at Springville is what made this season so special.
“It was a lot of fun playing with my friends,” she said. “The
state tournament was the best. We had a good run.”
Hansen was a two-year varsity player. As a senior, she was
a 5-foot-7 guard who started every game for the Red Devils. She said her
overall highlight at Springville was being part of the 4A state championship
team her junior year. However, her senior season was almost as special because
of what the team accomplished.
“Winning state was memorable, but shaking everyone up and
making it to the state championship game was really cool,” she said.
Hansen earned playing time as a junior, and was thrilled
when the Red Devils defeated Mountain Crest 44-40 for the championship. She
said the memories – and photographs – of her teammates celebrating on the court
will last in her mind forever.
As a senior, she started every game. She averaged 2.9
points per game, but had a lot more active role, including the state
tournament. Hansen had a high game of 12
points twice late in the season in consecutive games against Orem and Salem
Hills, but wasn’t certain exactly what her role was on the team.
“I just tried to give 100 percent,” she said. “Coach
(Nancy Warner) always expects that and everyone knew it. There was never any
rest.
“When Malia (Nawahine) became part of our team, she was
our go-to scorer. She played hard and got all the other players motivated.”
Nawahine was the leading scorer and an active player on the
team. Early on, the Red Devils struggled while still trying to believe what
they could accomplish. After a 63-49 loss at home to Salem Hills dropped them
to 4-8 overall and 1-4 in region, they had a team meeting aimed at making
changes.
“Coach had this theory,” Hansen said. “We had a lot of
slow starts and she figured it was because we always practiced at one end of
the court, but always started games at the other end.
“What really happened was that we just started playing
better,” she added. “We were sick of losing. We weren’t used to it.”
Springville won five straight games and seven of its last
nine of the regular season. Just as important, the team was clicking like the well-practiced
orchestras Hansen always enjoyed.
“By the state tournament, we were 11-10 and everyone was
writing us off, but we were believing at that point,” she said.
The team was the talk of the town and attracted most of
the attention at the state tournament at Salt Lake Community College. Fellow
Springville students also got excited about the possibility of a third
consecutive state title.
Hansen said she didn’t have her best offensive games at state,
but tried to play hard and focused on defense. The Devils surprised top-ranked
Cyprus in the first round, and followed up with wins over Sky View and Mountain
Crest (a team that had beaten them by over 30 points earlier).
Hansen described her effort this way:
“I was playing tough defense and getting into their
grills.”
The Cyprus game was on a Tuesday and really got everyone
excited. The title game occurred the following Saturday. In-between, Hansen
said it was difficult to focus on anything.
“At school, everyone was talking about it. I didn’t focus
on homework at all. The teachers didn’t like it.”
The final outcome wasn’t what Springville fans wanted,
but it didn’t dampen their excitement. The ride to the title game was still a
thrill.
Hansen said the basketball season would probably be the
end of her competitive athletic career. She said she planned to go to UVU and
become a nurse, like her grandmother, who played an important role in her life.
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