Whitehorse girls earn 5th place at 1A state basketball tournament

The Whitehorse Raider girls basketball team closed out their season with a win and a fifth place finish at the Utah 1A girls state basketball tournament on February 28.
Whitehorse defeated the Wendover Wildcats to go 2-1 at the state tournament and finish the season with a 20-6 record.
Speaking after the game head coach Joni Dickson described the game as hard fought.
“Everyone played their part, they went out there with relentless efforts and showed they wanted this win especially after the second half. Everyone did their best on their part and it definitely showed.”
Whitehorse jumped to an early lead in the first quarter 10-7 but Wendover came back in the second quarter to take a 21-20 halftime lead.
For the second game in a row Coach Dickson asked her team to step-up at halftime.
“We regrouped and explained we’re not playing as a team. We’re not working the ball around that got away from us during the second quarter. I just asked all of them, once you walk out that door you better play together, play as a team because that’s why we’re here.”
The Raiders won the third quarter to take a 28-24 lead after three quarters with the final score favoring Whitehorse 38-30.
The Raiders held Wendover to just nine second half points.
Senior guard Hannah Clark said she loves focusing on defense.
“Being on my toes, it makes you move faster. Competing against my sister knowing she was shifty. She was the one who built me on defense. I learned how to deal with moves and everything on defense.”
Junior Keiarra Martin agreed that focusing on defense is a key.
“My family always tells me, it doesn’t matter about the points you score as long as you can play on both ends of the floor. If you have 10 points but 20 steals, that's a great game.”
The Whitehorse girls not only played team defense but team offense with nine of their 13 field goals coming via an assist.
Floor general Hannah Clark had five assists and says she loves sharing the ball.
“It feels really good. Having court awareness, teaching the bench where to pass and where to look. Unselfish basketball is what we learn on this team. When someone's open I really don’t mind passing it because if its open, its open, and that’s teamwork”
When the buzzer sounded junior Martin cheered with her teammates and said part of that was getting revenge for a preseason double overtime loss to Wendover earlier this year.
“To get this win, get back in fifth place it just means a lot to myself, teammates and coaches. When that buzzer went off; all the hard work we’ve put in, it just felt relieving.”
While Martin didn’t hit her season scoring average at the tournament with teams focused on slowing her scoring, she didn’t let that stop her from impacting the game.
“I’m a team player. I can do both ends of the floor. I can steal, I can make points, I can make the plays. It’s not all about me, but when people do a box-and-one defense, that’s when I have to tell my teammates to step up their game and they really did it really showed in the state tournament.”
Bouncing back from a first round loss the Raiders stepped up to get the win. Martin gave a shoutout to her community for helping her out.
“Shoutout to my teammates for really stepping up. They really showed what it means to play at state. It showed on the floor, in this win and our other win. Shout out to them, and my dad, he really helped me a lot this tournament.”
In the game the Raiders were led by Martin who finished with 13 points, Clark scored 11 and Keira Chee scored 10. Maria Yellowman and Kaleigh Chee each had two points in the game.
Keira Chee led the team with nine rebounds while Martin had eight. Clark led the team with five assists and five steals. Lakyara Begay and Martin also recorded three steals and Keira Chee had one block in the game.
The win was the last for seniors Hannah Clark, Keira Chee and Mateja Joe.
Martin says its going to be hard to lose that senior group.
“I’ve played with them my whole life. They’re going to go off and do so many things. I just know they’re going to have a good life. Thanks to them for an amazing season I’m so glad I got to play with them.”
Coach Dickson said they’re going to lose a lot from the senior group.
“Hannah’s been our leader, been keeping the ball and the tempo and including everybody. That’s going to be a really big role to fill for our upcoming guards. We’re hoping that this off season they’re able to work on that.”
Dickson added that Keira Chee and Metaja Joe held down the front court for the Raiders.
“Keira was a big asset especially after coming back from an injury. She made a difference scoring at the bottom. A lot of people didn’t look for the first half of the season, they looked that off and once Keira stepped in and made that a threat for us it took us to another level.”
Coach Dickson also described Joe as a tough player with a smooth free throw shot.
Speaking after her final game Joe said she’ll always remember being with the team.
“Team bonding and being able to get the confidence that I’m capable of playing forward”
Joe also added her teammates and family gave her confidence to be strong for her family moving forward.
“I get to be a role model to my nieces and nephews. Thats something big for me”
Clark said getting a win in her final game at the state tournament meant a lot.
“Especially hearing from my supporters, my fans, everyone out there. Thanks for supporting me, coming out from our community. Thanks to each and every one of you guys.”
An injury prevented Keira Chee from being interviewed post game but the day before she predicted how the team would play.
“Tomorrow 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.”
That culture shined through as the Raiders ended the season in 5th place at the tournament.
The Whitehorse girls finished the season with a 20-6 record including 8-0 in region play to win the Region 19 title.
Team leaders for the season included Martin who led the team averaging 24.4 points per game, Clark averaged 12.1 and Keira Chee averaged 6.5
Keira Chee led the team averaging 5.7 rebounds per game while Begay had 5.1 and Martin had 4.7
Clark led the team with 4.7 assists per game while Martin had 3.8 and Begay had 1.2.
Martin led the team averaging 5.2 steals per game while Clark had 3.7 and Begay had 2.4.
Kaleigh Chee led the team averaging 0.6 blocks per game while Martin and Keira Chee each averaged 0.4.
Coach Dickson added thanks to everyone in the community for the team support from the bus driver, to school administration, to Whitehorse staff and everyone that played a part.
“We want to thank our fans, the community for coming out. It was really loud for a 10 o clock game. That's the atmosphere that we love.”