Below is an excerpt of an article reprinted from the
Freshman sparks SC vs. Thunder
By John Renshaw
JANUARY 22, 2010
ST. GEORGE
- Snow Canyon's Amy Harris entered the current basket season like any other freshman would have: intimidated and unsure about the road ahead.
But regardless of one's class level, it doesn't take standout players long to adapt.
At the halfway mark of the Region 9 campaign, it's Harris, a guard, doing the intimidating on the court after being inserted into the Warriors' lineup early in region season. Her second half spark gave Snow Canyon a convincing 44-28 win at Desert Hills on Thursday night.
"I was real nervous coming into the year, wondering how I'd fit in with the other players," Harris said. "But once they (teammates) found out I could play, it made things a lot easier."
And as for her 18 points, which includes four 3-pointers, against Desert Hills?
"I knew I had to shoot the ball and make some (3-pointers) for our team," Harris said. "This was a big game for us, a game we had to win."
The Thunder led 10-7 in what was a less than stellar first half.
Snow Canyon's full court and undersized defense did a solid job containing key post player Keilani Needham and Chelsea Robinson. The backcourt pressure limited Desert Hills' offensive rhythm and timing - particularly the post play as the Thunder guards found it difficult to setup offensive sets and feed the frontcourt duo the ball. But Snow Canyon's offense failed to generate production with a number of missed opportunities.
Desert Hills (3-3 region, 8-6 overall), though, busted out of the gates in the third quarter. Needham's turnaround jumper increased the Thunder lead to 14-8 as well as providing brief momentum.
"We didn't play that well in the first half," Warriors coach Wade Jensen said. "We needed to play harder. Desert Hills came out more aggressive and we needed to match that."
Did Snow Canyon (5-1, 10-5) ever.
With points hard to come by, Harris took the game over when she popped a deep 3-pointer from the right corner to make it 16-11. The freshman tied the game at 16 with another long trey just two possessions later. But she was just getting warmed up.
With nearly two minutes left in the third, Harris launched and converted another deep trey (right wing) and was fouled in the process. Her free-throw secured the rare four-point play and supplied the Warriors with all the momentum and a 24-16 lead.
Harris said she isn't one to hesitate with the basketball in her hands, a notion proven correct Thursday.
Desert Hills didn't go away quietly. Needham cut the deficit to five after getting position in the paint with 6:42 left in the fourth. However, Snow Canyon closed the game on a 18-7 run to secure its sixth straight win.
"For whatever reason, we couldn't get any offensive rhythm. We didn't coach very well, didn't play very well tonight. Snow Canyon did a good job," Thunder coach Chris Allred said. "We're much improved from last season, but we are still battling with consistency."
Needham finished with eight points and Megan Buckway six for the Thunder.
Snow Canyon won't have much time to enjoy this win with undefeated region leader Canyon View slated for Tuesday.
