Springville head coach Holli Averett directs her team during the Region 7 game against Cedar Valley in Eagle Mountain on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.
For most of three quarters of play, both the Springville and Cedar Valley girls basketball teams matched each other as they fought hard to force turnovers with relentless defense and then attacked the paint.
For one quarter, though, the Aviators just executed that approach much better than the Red Devils did.
That was the difference in Tuesday's Region 7 game in Eagle Mountain as Cedar Valley defeated Springville, 54-45.
"That wasn't our best game," Aviator head coach Kawika Akina said. "Whenever you play Springville, they make you do different things. But we were able to overcome and finish it out."
Akina said he was proud of how his athletes pushed through to get the tough win.
"We got some stops, some steals and some layups," Akina said. "Defensively I thought we played well. Our press hurt them a little bit. When we were patient, we were really good. It was when we got too aggressive and reached that we gave up easy buckets."
Early in the second half, the Aviators and Red Devils were knotted at 28-28 after a Springville layup by Bella Esplin.
Almost all of the rest of the quarter, however, would belong to Cedar Valley.
"We came out of halftime and were more patient on defense," Akina said. "I looked up and all of a sudden we were up seven and I was like, how did that happen? But the rest of the way it was between seven and 12 points, so we were able to keep it there and stay in front."
Behind four points from sophomore Daisy Thayne, five from sophomore Savannah Klodt and four from junior Hadley Whiting, the Aviators scored 11 of the next 12 points to push the lead to double digits.
The Red Devils fought hard throughout the fourth quarter and stayed within striking distance but couldn't dig out of the hole.
"The good thing about this team is that they always fight, no matter the situation," Springville head coach Holli Averett said. "We've just got to stop putting ourselves in those positions. We need to play a solid four quarters, not three quarters or two quarters. We can't have break downs where we have bad stretches."
She said the big disappointment was not being able to handle the ball consistently.
"You can't win games with 25 turnovers," Averett said. "We still had chances, but you have to take pride when you have the ball and take care of it. That was the main story of the game for us."
She knows her team has been through a lot of ups and downs this year, but sees the potential it has.
"We'll get back to work and see what we can fix," Averett said. "It's going to come. They need to have the right mentality, that do mentality. They've got to get on to the next play after mistakes. We've just got to try to keep getting better every day."
Thayne paced the Aviators with 18 points while Klodt added 13.
"Those two were able to get to the basket and finish for us, and that was huge," Akina said. "They are really good at driving so we kind of let them go. They were solid."
Sami DeLlamas led the way for Springville with 17 points.
Both the Red Devils and Aviators rely on a number of young players, so there are some growing pains.
Akina talked about how many of his players don't have much tournament experience, but going through the gauntlet of Region 7 will get them better prepared for the pressure of the playoffs.
"Overall I'm happy with where we are at," Akina said. "If we can play well in these games coming up in February, particularly against the top teams like Wasatch and Salem Hills, that will help us a lot as we get ready for the tournament."
Cedar Valley (13-4) faces its next test when it plays at Timpview on Feb. 4, while Springville (9-10) will return home to take on Salem Hills on Jan. 31.