Lady Hawks beat Manti team 40-30 on home court, now 2-4 in region

By Matt Harris

01-24-2019

MT. PLEASANT—North Sanpete’s third win of the season was a special one.

            The Lady Hawks hosted a cross-county rivalry with Manti and pulled off an underdog victory, 40-30. North Sanpete moved to 3-11 on the season with a 2-4 mark in Region 15.

            “We had a great game defensively,” said North Sanpete Head Coach Taylor Christensen. “After a poor defensive game against Richfield, I challenged my girls to come out and hold them to 30 points, and we did exactly that.”

            While Manti’s unit shared scoring duties all around, North Sanpete benefitted from terrific shooting nights from their seniors Linzy Flinders and Tiffany Peckham. The two combined for 27 of the Lady Hawks’ 40 total points. Although seven different players found the net for the Lady Templars, their highest scorers were sophomores Breana Barson and Kassidy Alder with 6 points apiece.

            Much of the scoring for North Sanpete was done at the free throw line. The Lady Hawks made 16-27 from the line compared to Manti going 6-14. Even when Manti held North Sanpete without a field goal in the fourth quarter, the Lady Hawks still found their offense at the charity stripe.

            Christensen explained, “I felt we had control of it early on, but Manti played tough the second half, and got a lot of momentum with about five minutes remaining. My girls did a good job with their defense and free throws.”

            “It was a great rivalry game and both teams played hard,” Manti Head Coach Brennon Schweikart said. “It was a great basketball game. We need to shoot the ball better if we want to win games, especially open shots. It really is that simple.”

            North Sanpete has a significant chance to win two games in a row for the first time since December of 2016, as they face a road matchup against a severely struggling Grand County team this Friday. As for Manti, they face a tough San Juan team this Friday.