5A girls basketball: Bountiful wins state title with late tipped pass, denies Springville’s 3-peat
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- Bountiful High’s girls basketball team celebrates after winning the 5A state championship at the Dee Events Center on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
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- Bountiful High’s girls basketball team celebrates after winning the 5A state championship at the Dee Events Center on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
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- Bountiful High’s girls basketball team celebrates after winning the 5A state championship at the Dee Events Center on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
OGDEN — Saturday’s 1-versus-2, 5A girls basketball state championship game between Bountiful High and Springville fittingly came down to the final play with the Redhawks ahead 41-39 and 1.3 seconds left in the game.
Springville had an inbound play under its own basket and Bountiful’s plan for that play was simple: don’t let the Red Devils get a layup, an and-one or a 3-pointer.
They didn’t even get so much as a chance at either.
Instead, Redhawks senior guard Lizzy McConkie tipped Brooke Pennington’s inbound pass intended for Kayla Porray under the basket.
Jordyn Harvey turned to McConkie and celebrated the big play, and then seemingly as one, the Redhawks players all realized the clock read zero, the backboards were lit up red and the red-clad team celebrated their 41-39 victory on the Dee Events Center court.
“So good. It feels so good. They got us last year, so it’s revenge,” McConkie said.
It was a good thing for No. 2 Bountiful (23-1) that McConkie tipped the inbound pass because Porray may have had a good look at a potential game-tying layup coming off a screen.
Moments earlier, No. 1 Springville’s Samantha Stepp shot a potential go-ahead 3 that rattled in and out. Bountiful’s Claire Cook rebounded the miss but was called for traveling, giving Springville the last look at a tie or a win.
Instead of overtime or a Red Devils win, Bountiful won its first state title since 2016 and prevented a Springville three-peat in the process.
“Unbelievable, ecstatic, excited. So proud of our kids. I love ’em. This is what we’ve been dreaming for all year long,” Bountiful coach Joel Burton said.
Two big, late shots by Bountiful turned a 39-36 deficit into the final 41-39 margin. With 1:45 left in the game, McConkie knocked down an open corner 3-pointer to tie it 39-39.
The next possession, sophomore Taylor Harvey stole a Springville pass to secure a Redhawks stop.
Bountiful rebounded its own miss on offense the next trip down, called timeout, drew up a play and freshman Milika Satuala hit a 19-footer on the right side with 31 seconds left.
With Stepp’s open 3-pointer and the inbound play, Springville got two bites at the apple, the last thing Bountiful would’ve wanted in that situation. Then, the Redhawks got everything they wanted at the start of the season.
“Yeah, I did not see that coming,” McConkie said of the final tipped pass.
“After my brain processed, I’m like Lizzie got the tip,” senior Jordyn Harvey said. “She won that game for us. Defensively, that is what we need to do. That’s what we did and that was such a good move.”
The Redhawks leaned on their defensive strength the entire game, which helped them weather multiple slow stretches on offense.
Bountiful’s second-quarter possessions went turnover, turnover, turnover, turnover, miss, miss, turnover, turnover as part of a 5-minute, 22-second scoring drought to open the period.
In an example of how quickly things can change, Bountiful immediately went on a 7-0 run over 43 seconds of game time to briefly take a 13-12 lead, which then became a 17-13 halftime deficit.
Burton said the Redhawks were fortunate to only be down by four at the break, given they’d committed 13 turnovers to Springville’s four, and had thusly shot just 14 field goal attempts compared to the Red Devils’ 27.
Bountiful hit another scoring drought in the third quarter, this one lasting 2:52, in which time Springville turned a 21-21 tie into a 30-21 lead.
Late Taylor Harvey free throws plus a Satuala layup from a steal in the half-court pulled Bountiful to within 30-25 at the third-quarter break. It meant trailing by five points instead of possibly 10 or more.
Those baskets were part of a 13-2 Bountiful run over 5:21 of the third and fourth quarters that saw the Redhawks ultimately take a 34-32 lead midway through the fourth quarter — a lead Springville retook just 33 seconds later.
Another pendulum swing gave Springville a 39-36 lead with 2 minutes left after Pennington’s driving bucket with single digits on the shot clock.
McConkie’s big 3 tied the game, ensuring she shot 2 of 3 from 3-point range in the championship game after going 2 of 3 from deep in each of the semifinal and quarterfinal games. Over her final four games of the season, she shot 7 of 11 from downtown.
“I think I was just in my head most of the season and then I was like, ‘It’s senior season, might as well just shoot,'” McConkie said.
Then there was Satuala’s go-ahead jumper on a play that was drawn up for either Taylor Harvey or Claire Cook underneath. But a defender stayed inside to try and double-team Harvey after a screen, leaving Satuala open.
Satuala led Bountiful with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting with six rebounds.
“It was definitely a team effort; if Lizzie’s 3-pointer hadn’t gotten us there …” Satuala said. “I’m so proud that I could help our team to get to this point and that we got there. I’m so proud of my whole team.”
Pennington led all scorers with 17 points for Springville (24-2).
Taylor Harvey scored 10 points, all in the second half, with six rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
McConkie had nine points and the Redhawks shot 17 of 36 (47.2%) as a team, going 12 of 22 in the second half while the Red Devils posted 34.7% shooting for the game. After 13 first-half turnovers, Bountiful committed only seven in the second half.
Many players on the basketball team played volleyball and soccer in the fall, two sports that made deep postseason runs that ultimately yielded no state titles for either sport.
There was collective motivation on the basketball team all season to then close the deal, a motivation that turned into a set of good memories.
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.