Girls basketball: Davis pours in near-record 17 3-pointers to even series with Syracuse
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- Davis High’s T’maea Eteuati (1) dribble against Syracuse’s Maylee Anderson on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Davis players Kendra Kitchen (30) and Kate Richards (23) box out Syracuse’s Olivia Sorenson (35) on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Davis High’s Kate Richards shoots a 3-pointer against Syracuse on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse’s Avery Sanders drives against Davis on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen, center, drives against Syracuse High’s Cortnie Barker, right, on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse’s Cortnie Barker, center, battles with Davis High’s Kate Richards, right, on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen (30) drives against Syracuse’s Camden King on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse High’s Grace Thomas (25) pushes the ball up court against Davis on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Davis High’s Shea Miller (15) shoots against Syracuse’s Olivia Sorenson (35) on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse High’s Olivia Sorensen (35) holds the ball as Davis High’s Kendra Kitchen (30) defends on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
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- Syracuse High’s Ariah Peterson dribbles against Davis on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Syracuse.
SYRACUSE — Davis sophomore guard T’Maea Eteuati grew 3 1/2 inches over the summer, nearly one per every syllable necessary to pronounce her beautifully unique last name.
Yet she still makes her mark in games from beyond the arc — this time with an exclamation point Friday against Syracuse.
Eteuati poured in eight 3-pointers and Davis avenged an earlier season loss to the Titans with a dominant, 68-45 victory in a Region 1 showdown.
“I wanted to come out strong and wanted to win this game and do the best I could do for my team. It just happened,” Eteuati said. “Now I’m able to read the court better and have better court IQ, and work with my teammates better.”
Davis (18-1, 7-1 Region 1) drained an astonishing 17 3-pointers on the night, tied for second-most in one game in state girls basketball history. Kate Richards and Kendra Kitchen both buried four apiece to get in on the action.
“We weren’t necessarily looking for 3s; we were looking for an open teammate, looking to pass the ball and pass up a good pass for a great pass,” Eteuati said. “Our focus was to compete with Syracuse; they’re a really good team — work as a team and play good with each other.”
Syracuse (16-4, 7-1) hung with the Darts early, trailing 19-16 after one quarter but unable to quite keep pace with Eteuati and Richards, who had 17 of the Darts’ 19 points.
Things progressively got better for the Darts. They scored 16, 18 and 15 points over the final three periods, while holding the Titans to single numbers in two of the quarters.
Avery Sanders was most of the offense for the Titans, scoring their last seven points in the third quarter and their only basket until midway through the fourth. She finished with 17 points.
Eteuati led three Darts in double figures with 26 points, while Kitchen scored 18 and Richards added 16.
For Syracuse, Cortnie Barker also had double digits, checking in with 11.
But the theme of the night was the 3-point Davis barrage, and the Darts and Titans are now tied for first place in Region 1 with two games remaining on the schedule, having split the season series.
“When someone stopped hitting, somebody else picked up the slack today. That’s the mark of a good team. Find who has the hot hand and start feeding it,” Davis coach Anne Jones said. “Every single game you have to have a little bit of luck and a little bit of timing. We don’t come into a game overlooking anybody. We were hungry and shot the ball extremely well.”