Lady Templars came from behind to nab 47-40 win over Gunnison
Bob Bahlmann
Staff writer
2-9-2017
MANTI—The Manti Lady Templars played off the momentum of a big overtime win on Tuesday, Jan. 31 and battled the Gunnison Lady Bulldogs to a 47-40 victory.
Playing in front of a packed gym and an enthusiastic crowd, the two teams battled from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer with Manti earning the seven-point advantage.
With less than three minutes left to play, the Bulldogs held a tenuous 39-36 lead when Manti’s Ashton Wood hit a pivotal three-pointer to tie the game at 39. Manti outscored the Bulldogs 10-1 in the final minutes of the game to take the win. In the final eight minutes of the game, seven different Templars scored.
Paige King led the Bulldogs with 10 points. Jaida King added eight, six from three-point range. Katelyn Anderson had seven points, Tayler Brackett had six, Sheridan Sorensen was perfect from the field, and three of four from the line for five points, Kaitlyn Wegener and Taryn Thompson had two each.
Playing in her final home appearance, senior Leah Howe had a career game for the Templars. She finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead all scorers.
Auri Squire had nine points, six from behind the arc. She also had three rebounds. Wood added seven points and had three assists. Amie Squire had four points and five rebounds. Kjerstin Birch had four points and two boards. Keslee Cox and LaRiah Rosser had two each, and Kallie Young hit a free throw.
The Templars are hot on the heels of Gunnison in Region 15 standings. The Lady Bulldogs have one more game at home against North Sevier tomorrow. The Wolves are having a great year and will be a tough assignment for Gunnison. Should North Sevier win, Gunnison will finish the regular season at 3-7.
Meanwhile, Manti has three more games, all on the road. They traveled to North Sevier on Tuesday. Results of that game were not available at press time.
Tomorrow will see Manti in Blanding to take on a tough San Juan team, followed by a visit to Moab to play Grand. If Manti wins any one of these three games, they will also finish the season with a 3-7 record, forcing a play-in game with Gunnison with the winner of that game advancing to post season play.
