Whitehorse girls bounce back from loss to dominate and earn spot in 1A state 5th place game

The Whitehorse lady Raiders are on to the 5th place game at the 1A girls state basketball tournament at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville, Utah.
The #6 seed Whitehorse fell to the #3 seed Tabiona Tigers 46-35 in the quarterfinals of the state tournament but bounced back in consolation play to defeat the #7 Valley Buffalo 59-38.
Whitehorse will play #9 seed Wendover Saturday, February 28 at 10:00 am for 5th place.
Speaking after the game Coach Joni Dickson said it felt great to bounce back after a loss with such a big win built on chemistry. Senior guard Hannah Clark agreed.
“It felt very good, especially after a tough loss yesterday. I felt it was a really good win”
Whitehorse got off to an incredible hot start to build an 18-2 lead after one quarter, the dominant quarter was emphasized by the final seconds when Maria Yellowman hit a three point shot and the Raiders relentless defense forced a double dribble on Valley. Clark said that was something they designed to put pressure and force the turnover.
With just 0.8 seconds left in the quarter Keiarra Martin sent an inbound pass to Clark on the left wing who hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to close out an explosive first quarter.
“We got screened and I got the ball and it actually went in, that was a good play that we drew up.”
Coach Dickson agreed with Clark's assessment.
“We worked on timing and running against the clock this last week. Hannah just made that look so easy.”
Valley fought back to win the second quarter with Whitehorse leading by just 10 points at halftime by a score of 27-17.
Coach Dickson said the team got a little too comfortable after building a big first quarter lead.
“Everyone in the locker room agreed and they talked as a team. We can’t get comfortable, we've got to keep pushing, we’ve got to keep fighting. Just because we’re ahead doesn’t mean we let up.”
The first two minutes of the first quarter the Raiders went on an 8-0 run starting with a baseline inbounds pass from Martin into Keira Chee who sealed off her defender and got the layup. On the next possession Clark found Keira rolling to the basket for another bucket. After a defensive stand Martin, the leading scorer in the 1A showed great control driving to the basket through contact to lay the ball up and in. Clark stole the ball on the next play and added a layup, after another defensive stop the Raiders went back to that play with Chee rolling to the basket one more time with an and-one to give Whitehorse the 21 point lead and take control of the game.
Speaking after the game Clark said she and assistant coach Dickson noticed that first roll was wide open to the basket and designed another look for Chee.
“I realized hey that is open they contested and we just lobbed it to Keira. It was a good play that got us up 20 points.”
Keira Chee said the third quarter spark was about pushing herself.
“I knew my team needed me in that game I needed to push myself through the game and still nothing would’ve happened without teamwork because of my team.”
Coach Dickson had praise for her senior leaders adding that Keira Chee stepped up.
“Her and her sister at the bottom, everyone at the bottom played a tough game. They double teamed her but again getting everyone involved and having those rolls for Keira really helped her.”
Keira added its fun to play with her sister Kaleigh Chee.
“We still have those fights but we still have tough defense at the bottom. We both push each other to get through things even when things get physical. We’ve got that strong teamwork at the bottom not to let anyone in.”
While the senior anchored the defense down low Coach Dickson added that Clark helped direct the offense up top.
“Hannah is a great leader. She knows how to control the court. We trust the ball in her hand and when she gets everyone involved it’s something special.”
Clark agreed that it was a team effort.
“We realized we actually need to step up and defend 5th place. We all worked together, we all had that chemistry this whole game and we all communicated all had that chemistry all together.”
The team got contributions from all three seniors with Coach Dickson shouting out Mateja Joe for her good minutes as well.
“We know that she’s a tough player. We really try and get her involved because it is her senior year so I’m hoping we can get her in a little bit more tomorrow. Her free throws looked smooth.”
Whitehorse led 48-26 after three quarters and won by a final score of 59-38.
Whitehorse shot 45-percent from the field and 30-percent from three point range while going 13/18 from the free throw line in the win.
The Raiders were led by senior Clark who finished with 17 points with Martin scoring 15. Keira Chee scored nine while Yellowman and Kaleigh Chee each had five. Lakyara Begay scored four and Malia Sam and Mateja Joe each had two points in the win.
Martin also nearly had a double-double with nine steals in the game while Clark had three.
Martin and Kaleigh Chee were each credited with four rebounds while Begay was credited with three.
Martin had six assists while Clark had four. Keira Chee, Clark and Martin were all credited with one block in the win as well.
The win was a bounce back game for the Raiders after losing 46-35 to Tabiona in the quarterfinals. The game was close throughout with Tabiona leading 11-8 after one quarter and 23-17 at halftime. Whitehorse pulled within one in the middle of the third quarter but Tabiona was able to reinsert themselves and lead 32-26 after three quarters with the final quarter favoring Tabiona and the Tigers winning 46-35.
Much of the difference in that game came down to field goal percentage. The Raiders shot 24-percent from the field, 17-percent from three and went 8/10 from the free throw line.
In the loss the Raiders were led by Martin who scored 15, Begay with six, Clark and Yellowman with five and Kaleigh and Keira Chee each with two.
In the loss Clark led the team with seven rebounds while Keira Chee had six. Clark had two assists. Martin had four steals while Clark had three and Kaleigh Chee recorded one block.
Whitehorse plays Wendover Friday February 28 at 10:00 am. The game is a rematch of a double-overtime loss in the second game of the season.
Clark says they’re ready for the rematch.
“The first time we played Wendover it was a preseason game and we only had one week of practice to get used to each other. Three of our guards left so I had to get used to the other three that came in and we started working our post. It was really good to go into overtime.”
For her final senior game Keira Chee wants to see that same chemistry.
“All I want from my team and for myself is to push through. Push through together as a team. Have that team culture we have.”
Coach Dickson added her thanks to the many supporters at the arena.
“Shoutout to our families who came here and traveled a long way. They’re the loudest cheerleaders in the gym right now.”
If you can’t make the game you can listen to the action on Red Rock Radio 92.7 FM.