Girls basketball: After Kitchen cooks, Richards steps up and Davis defeats Syracuse
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- Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen steals the ball as Syracuse’s Cortnie Barker (20) pursues on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s T’Maea Eteuati (1) fights for a loose ball with Syracuse High’s Ariah Peterson on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Syracuse guard Avery Sanders, right, dribbles as Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen (30) gives chase on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Olivia Lifferth rises to shoot against Syracuse on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Syracuse guard Ariah Peterson (10) drives against Davis High’s T’Maea Eteuati (1) on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Syracuse High girls basketball players cheer during a game against Davis on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Davis High’s Kate Richards drives against Syracuse on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Syracuse High’s Cami King preps to pass the ball against Davis on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Syracuse High’s Ariah Peterson handles the basketball against Davis on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
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- Syracuse guard Maylee Anderson, right tries to scoop up the ball as Davis High’s Maya Chino, left, gives chase on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kaysville.
KAYSVILLE — For a little more than half of its girls basketball game against Syracuse High on Friday, Davis ran the offense through junior forward Kendra Kitchen.
Kitchen was cooking, having scored 16 of the Darts’ 17 points by the 6:21 mark of the third quarter. Davis led 17-15 in a tight, low-scoring contest.
But once the Darts and Kitchen realized they had other options, junior guard Kate Richards stepped in and lit up the scoreboard for 11 points over the last 5:16 of the third quarter, and Davis went on a roll to lead 33-25 at the quarter break.
The Darts withstood a brief Syracuse run midway through the fourth quarter and built on the lead, pulling away for a 42-33 Region 1 victory over the Titans in a battle of league unbeatens.
“When somebody’s hot, we give them the ball; if somebody is playing their best and others aren’t, we give the ball to people who are scoring,” Richards said.
Kitchen finished with 18 points and dished out four assists from the forward slot.
Davis (11-1, 4-0 Region 1) trailed 15-13 after the first half in which Kitchen totaled 12 points, and she began the third quarter where she left off, scoring the first two buckets of the period.
Then, Syracuse (8-5, 2-1) finally figured it out and Davis turned to Richards to fill the scoring gap.
“I was driving to the basket, trying to get us going because we were kind of off to a slow start; trying to make a play,” Kitchen said. “They were kind of shutting me down, so I just tried to find the open person. Kate was hot, so I tried to give it to her because I knew she could knock it down. We just played more as a team.”
Kitchen had a hand in getting Richards jump-started, blocking a shot on the defensive end that led to a fast break layup for Richards — the first basket by a player not named Kitchen.
“I just wanted to make a stop. I knew we could get a good look on offense. Good defense leads to good offense,” Kitchen said.
Richards took it from there, burying a trio of treys over the rest of the quarter.
“Just getting out of my head and settling into the game; I finally got the right mindset and took the shots I know I can make,” Richards said. “Once I make a shot, they keep coming. Hitting that first one helped a lot with the confidence.”
Richards finished the game with those 11 third-quarter points, and Chloe Peery had five points, also in the third period.
“We started playing as a team. We came out and wanted to fight and win,” Richards said. “Getting that fight back in us; we were down at half and came out more aggressive.”
Syracuse junior guard Avery Sanders matched Kitchen with 12 points in the first half — closing with 19 for the game — but Davis made it a priority to have the Titans find someone else in the second half, and they couldn’t.
“Avery Sanders was hitting all their points; so, we started face-guarding her and putting a lot of pressure on her. We were focusing on her and wanted to keep her from scoring,” Richards said. “That helped our team get our aggressive on other players who might step up for Syracuse.”
So, a 20-10 third quarter gave the Darts their eight-point lead, which narrowed to 36-30 in the final frame on a fast-break, basket-and-one by Syracuse guard Cami King with 4:43 remaining.
But Aryanna Bull, saddled by foul trouble all night, scored her only bucket from the right angle moments later and Kitchen added a pair of free throws — her only points since the opening of the third quarter — and Davis led 40-30 with 3:09 left, coasting home from there.
“I’m totally fine with giving up 42 points — our goal is 10 points a quarter — so defensively we did OK, but offensively we’ve got to be a little bit better,” Syracuse coach Braden Hamblin said. “Execution-wise, and staying strong with the basketball and finishing some shots … we had some missed opportunities.
“Avery is a great player; a lot of times I’ll ask her to play the whole game. We have to get more production and get a couple of other girls to step up and come into their own. We’ve just got to get out there and keep getting better.”