Girls basketball: Richards fuels Davis 19-0 run to bury Olympus in 4th quarter
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- Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen, center, drives past Olympus’ Joss Baker (20) on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Kate Richards passes the ball against Olympus on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Avery Dain, center right, battles for the ball with an Olympus player on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s T’Maea Eteuati (1) drives past Olympus’ Rylee Rice (5) on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Kate Richards looks to pass against Olympus on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Olympus player Joss Baker, center left, defends Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen (30) on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Avery Dain surveys the Olympus defense on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen (30) and Olympus’ Joss Baker (20) jump for the ball on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s girls basketball team huddles before a game Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Kaysville.
KAYSVILLE — Since Davis High senior guard Kate Richards does not have a serious scholarship offer to play college basketball, she may want to send out a tape of what happened Tuesday night.
Richards scored 20 points, including five 3-pointers, and broke open a tight game against Olympus in the second half with a trio of those treys. She also recorded five assists and four rebounds.
Davis closed the game on a 19-0 run, resulting in a perhaps misleading 66-40 non-region blowout victory over the Titans to remain unbeaten so far this season.
Olympus (4-5) narrowed the gap to 33-32 with 2:31 left in the third quarter before Kendra Kitchen scored on a driving layup and added a pair of free throws on the next two possessions.
Then Richards took over.
She drained a 3-pointer with 16.3 seconds left in the period as Davis went up 40-34 after three. Richards buried another dagger from beyond the arc to open the fourth quarter and the Darts led by nine points early in the final frame.
“I know when my team’s struggling, I need to look to score. They needed someone to step up, so I looked for my shot more,” Richards said. “My teammates were getting me the ball and I was just firing it up. Once you get the first few down, they start falling.”
It was still a seven-point game midway through the fourth quarter when the Darts (8-0) embarked on that epic 19-0 burst, coasting to the win.
Richards hit her third three of the second half, making it 52-40, and the Darts rolled from there.
“Our closest game so far this year,” Richards said. “They were playing some really good offense, setting tough screens all over. By the end of the game, we fixed it on defense.
“… Momentum. We started playing really good as a team; making the extra pass, playing good defense, everybody contributing,” she added.
Kitchen did what Kitchen does, leading the Darts with 23 points on eight field goals and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line. She hauled down 12 rebounds, had four blocks and dished out four assists.
Freshman Kate Willard came off the bench and netted seven points, while sophomore guard T’Maea Eteuati also had seven.
For the time being, Richards will have to be satisfied to continue to hone her love of the game that started in first grade.
“My dad definitely helped me a lot. He sent me to training, then getting in the gym a lot to get some shots up. Focusing on good form shooting; putting in the effort,” Richards said. “I’m not the biggest one out there. I don’t like to get blocked, so outside is where I like to stay.”