Mountain Crest women stumble on free throws, fall to Alta
December 6th, 2012 Posted in SportsHYRUM — The Mountain Crest Mustangs women’s basketball team faced off against a tough preseason 5A opponent Tuesday night. It was a close game until the fourth quarter when a stubborn Alta Hawks team came from behind to seal their victory, 42-49.
The Mustangs came out aggressive against a sluggish-looking Hawks team and caused two turnovers in Alta’s first four possessions. Intensity aside, both teams started out cold shooting but the Mustangs held the upper hand leading 6-5 at the end of the first quarter.
“They acted like the one-and-a-half hour bus ride was the hardest thing in the world,” said Alta head coach Kristy Jensen about her team’s sluggish behavior.
Alta began a full court press in the second quarter but quick passing and good penetration to the hoop by junior center Kelsey Kartchner cut through a scattered Hawks defense.
“We did really good in the first half,” Kartchner said. “Our team played amazing.” Kartchner ended up with six points on the night.
The start of the second half brought new life to the Hawks. They stopped pressing and played zone defense which caused three straight turnovers on the Mustangs.
“I took them out of the press because it obviously wasn’t working,” Jensen said. “At half time I told them to pick up the energy and communication was key in the second half.”
As the energy picked up, shots started to fall for the Hawks and they took a 27-33 lead by the end of the third quarter.
“We slacked in the third on getting out to their outside shooters quick enough,” said Mountain Crest head coach Candace Thorton.
The hot hands continued and the Hawks increased the deficit by 13 halfway through the fourth.
Despite Alta’s outside shooting, the Mustangs remained aggressive by driving to the hoop and getting fouls. But the Stangs couldn’t hit their free throws – only hitting 10 of 23 as a team – and therefore could never catch up to the Hawks which resulted in a final score of 42-49.
“We missed 13 free throws,” Thorton said. “They were a great team but we lost this game on free throws.”
The Mustangs will have two road games against Syracuse and Springville but return home to face Lone Peak on Dec. 14.
NW
Tags: Alta High School, Kelsey Kartchner, Mountain Crest High School, womens basketball
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