Park City
Girls, at 3-4, are improving
The Park City High School girls’ basketball team saw its three-game winning streak snapped at the hands of 5A Jordan last week, but the team’s confidence is high. Having gone through a demanding preseason schedule, the Miners are looking forward to Region 10 play.
Guard Laurel Kasel continues to shine. She is averaging 23 points per game and has already drained 28 3-pointers on the season. Kasel’s supporting cast is strong this season as forwards Bailey Tibbitts and Carson Lyman both average nearly seven points per game.
The Miners will face the West Panthers tonight at 7:30 p.m. at PCHS. The Panthers are 2-4 on the season a 16-point loss to the East Leopards. Park City defeated East 52-34 on Dec. 9.
Park City boys are ready to rumble
The Park City boys’ basketball team (5-2) heads south to Cedar City this week to take on some of its toughest competition of the season at the Steve Hodson Classic.
The Miners will open the tournament against Cedar High School today at 2 p.m. The Redmen are 5-1 on the season and have a couple prolific scorers in Kyler Nielson (16.5 points per game) and Cameron Armstrong (14 points per game). Cedar also has John Ursua, former star quarterback at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs, who transferred to Cedar a few weeks ago and is a key player for Redmen basketball.
PCHS has had a hot start in large part due to its depth. The Miners have six players averaging more than five points a game and point guard Heath Vincent has already accumulated 41 assists in seven games this season.
The tournament will be held at Canyon View High School in Cedar City.
South Summit
Wildcats riding streak after loss to PCHS
The South Summit High School Wildcats have gotten over the tough loss to county rival Park City, and it shows. The Wildcats have won three straight since Dec. 10 and are coming off a barnburner win over Layton Christian Academy at home, 83-79 in double overtime on Dec. 22.
The Wildcats had four players in double figures as Jordan Page led the way with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Forward Levi Thompson had 20 points and nine rebounds, while guards Parker Anderson (11 points, nine rebounds) and Trevor Rydalch (21 points, six assists, five steals) helped round out the win.
South Summit’s previous two wins came against North Sanpete on Dec. 14, a game which the Wildcats dominated en route to a 55-29 win in North Sanpete, and a nail-biter against Rowland Hall, 52-47, on Dec. 17.
The Wildcats will look to extend their winning streak tomorrow night at home against 3A 2-6 Union. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.
Lady Cats hoping for a turnaround
At 1-7, the South Summit Lady Cats are looking for a way to turn their season around. After starting the season 1-0, South Summit has dropped seven straight games. The team will look to flip the switch tomorrow night at home against Millard.
The Lady Cats have dropped a few tight games and have played a relatively strong pre-season schedule. They are led by BreeAnn Buckner, Abby Peterson and Paige Peterson, all of whom average nearly six points per game.
North Summit
Braves offense can catch fire, but need overall improvement
The North Summit High School boys’ basketball team, at 4-6, has three prolific scorers in Keegan McQueen (16 points per game), Makay Fristrup (14 points per game) and Preston Pace (11 points per game), but has dropped a few close ones.
The Braves ran into one of 3A’s best teams in Morgan on Dec. 17 and scored 86 points, but gave up 119, a game in which McQueen and Fristrup combined to hit 14 3-pointers.
Before the loss to Morgan, the Braves had a 55-point win over Rockwell on Dec. 14 and a 24-point win over American Leadership Academy on Dec. 15.
North Summit’s next region game is Wednesday, Jan. 5, at Rowland Hall.
Lady Braves ready to get back into win column
The North Summit Lady Braves, who have lost four games by seven or less points, are 2-7 on the season. They are coming off a tough stint at the 2A-3A Preseason Preview tournament in which they went 0-2, losing the opening-round game by two points to South Sevier on Dec. 17.
The Lady Braves are led by Kaitlyn Rowser, who leads the team in points per game (8.3) and rebounding (2.1). Cassidy Stephens (6.9 points per game) and Samantha Nicholes (5.9 points per game) are other leaders on the team.
North Summit’s next game is against Rockwell on the road on Jan. 4.