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OREM — To borrow the words of head coach Chad Bahr, Payson's first trip to the girls basketball state quarterfinals in two decades was shocking enough that the Lions didn't make a field goal in the first quarter against Desert Hills.
The Lions' defense never left, though.
Cheznie Roundy drained three 3-pointers en route to 15 points, Oaklie Jackman added 14 points, and Payson overcame a 5-1 deficit after one quarter to take a 51-40 win over Desert Hills in the 4A quarterfinals Monday at the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University.
Averie Roundy scored 12 for the Lions (17-7), who will face top-seeded Ridgeline at 7:30 p.m. MST Tuesday in a 4A state semifinal.
"This team can get buckets in bunches. If we get down by a bit, they've just got to settle in and good things can happen. They can all shoot; literally seven of them can go off any day. It's fun, but we just have to continue to focus on defending. … We only have two seniors, but they're really mature and nothing really bothers them."
The Thunder held Payson scoreless from the field in the first quarter, and Hannah Heaton did all the damage offensively with 5 points en route to a 5-1 lead.
Heaton scored 10 in the first half and assisted on Tess Peterson's bucket that gave Desert Hills a 12-5 advantage with 4:33 left in the second quarter.
But the Lions finished the half on a 14-2 run to take a 19-10 lead at halftime.
"They finally settled in a little bit," Bahr said. "This is their first run in the big show under the lights. They came out shellshocked and not like themselves; they were a little tentative. … But we finally settled in and started to guard. When we're guarding, it really ignites our offense."
Peterson pulled the Thunder within 33-31 with a triple with 55 seconds left in the third quarter, but Jackman forced a steal and drove coast-to-coast in the closing seconds to help Payson to a 37-31 lead with one quarter to go.
The Lions held Desert Hills without a field goal in the fourth quarter until Myles Villanueva's triple with 1:45 remaining to pull within 44-35. But the Thunder could get no closer.
Heaton finished with 12 points to lead Desert Hills (10-13), which got 10 points from Peterson and 9 from Jenna Brown.
In the other semifinal, No. 2 Snow Canyon will face Cedar in the other semifinal at 4:10 p.m.
Snow Canyon 59, Sky View 54
Olivia Hamlin dropped 36 points as the Warriors overcame a 21-18 halftime deficit to rally past the Bobcats.
Hamlin, the leading scorer in 4A at 27.0 points per game, drained five 3-pointers to spur Snow Canyon (22-1), and also added seven rebounds, six steals and four assists.
Joey Jensen supplied 9 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals for the Warriors, who got 5 pints and six rebounds from Kelly Howard to advance to Wednesday's semifinals (4:10 p.m. MST).
Cedar 59, Green Canyon 54
Annalyse Shimada totaled 22 points, six rebounds and three assists, and Kiara Hansen added 18 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks as Cedar jumped out to a 37-14 halftime lead and held off the Wolves.
Mya Bishop had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Reds (19-5). Janalynn Blotter led Green Canyon (13-10) with 18 points, and Talyssa Nelson and Marissa Best each scored 10.
Ridgeline 66, Dixie
Emilee Skinner poured in 22 points and Elise Livingston added 15 points with three 3-pointers as top-seeded Ridgeline flexed its muscles with a 66-22 rout of Dixie.
Macie Brown added 11 points for the Riverhawks (22-2), who held the Flyers to single-digit scoring in all four quarters.
The Riverhawks limited Dixie to 3 points in the first quarter and 9 at the half before putting up a 55-17 margin after three frames.
Ridgeline's second-round contest against 17th-seeded Crimson Cliffs was similarly uncertain, as the Riverhawks jumped out to a 22-2 lead early and coasted to the 86-24 win.
Kealah Faumuina scored 10 for Dixie (13-12).
4A Boys quarterfinals
Green Canyon 67, Ridgeline 64
Jared Anderson and Layker Ward combined for 43 points on 11 3-pointers to lift the Wolves past the Riverhawks.
Anderson scored 23 points, Ward added 20, and Karan Hoffman had 11 for Green Canyon (20-5), which totaled 13 3-pointers and pulled away after a 24-17 first quarter.
Carson Cox scored 20 points, and Jagger Francom added 17 for Ridgeline (18-7).
Layton Christian 58, Murray 53
Luka Kulundzic drained four 3-pointers en route to 16 points to help the Eagles overcome a 27-20 halftime deficit and down the Spartans.
Alan Gballau scored 14 and Otavio Armani 11 for the top-seeded Eagles (24-3), who will face Green Canyon at 5:50 p.m. MST Tuesday.
Isaiah Ben led Murray (18-7) with 20 points, and Quinton Christman supplied 15 for the Spartans.
Snow Canyon 68, Dixie 57
Owen Mackay poured in 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals as the Warriors used a 17-13 second quarter to stun second-seeded Dixie.
Damon Ince added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists for Snow Canyon (17-7), Owen Iloa had 13 points and seven rebounds and Trey Kelch supplied 10 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Breckon Robinson and Kyle Leake each scored 19 for the Flyers (22-4).
Cottonwood 52, Logan 48
John Rosevear poured in 17 points to lead the Colts to their first state semifinal since 2004 with a 4-point upset of the third-seeded Grizzlies.
Peter Oguama scored 12 points and Ryan Nielson 10 for Cottonwood (20-5), who advanced to face Snow Canyon at 7:30 p.m. MST Tuesday.
Jordan Child posted a game-high 20 points for Logan (19-6), and Sade Nenbee added 12 points.
