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SALT LAKE CITY — All season, Copper Hills girl's basketball team has relied on its defense.
When the Grizzlies needed it most, that's where they went back.
Ellie Taylor scored 16 points with seven rebounds, and Skylie Barker added 16 points and four rebounds as top-seeded Copper Hills held off Skyridge 52-45 in a 6A state semifinal Wednesday at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Ayla Marston added 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for the Grizzlies (15-1), who scored 13 points off 14 turnovers.
"We've leaned on our defense all season," Copper Hills coach Jake Timpson said. "We're one of the best defensive teams in the state, and that's a heck of a team that we had to defend against. They're well-coached, they've got a lot of talent, and that was a hard-fought win."
Sadie Buttars had 11 points and three rebounds to lead Skyridge (14-11), and Shae Toole added 10 points and four assists.
Copper Hills limited the Falcons' scoring tandem of Cambree Blackham and Merceius Mili to 7 and 9 points, respectively, on a combined 4-of-15 shooting.
The Grizzlies opened hot from the field, jumping out to advantages of 6-0 and 11-5 on a 3-pointer by Barker. But Skyridge rallied back in the first quarter, cutting the deficit to 13-11 on a pair of late free throws by Mili.
The Falcons tied the game at 19 from the free-throw line midway through the second, but Barker and Ellie Taylor ended the half with a pair of 3-pointers to lift Copper Hills to the 26-21 lead.
The Grizzlies held Blackham to just 2 points on 1-of-4 shooting in the first half, and Mili to 2 points on 1-of-3 shooting with three rebounds in the first half. Skyridge shot 7-of-17 from the field in the first half, but just 1-of-4 from deep.
The double-digit scorers got loose in the second half, and — when combined with a full-court press to force turnovers — Buttars drained a 3-pointer with 90 seconds left to pull Skyridge within one, 46-45, midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Falcons could get no closer, thanks to key defensive stops and a pair of drives off the bounce from senior point guard Alyssa Loza, who finished with 7 points and two assists.
"We know in these types of games, they try to take away your best players and you need others to step up," Timpson said. "Loza was unbelievable for us. She's a big reason why we won, and without our defense and those moments, we weren't going to win. She's a senior, she worked really hard to get to this point, and I'm really happy for her."
The Grizzlies will face two-time defending state champion Lone Peak in the 6A state championship Friday at 1:30 p.m. MST at the Huntsman Center.
Lone Peak 63, Corner Canyon 40
Lone Peak's semifinal win over Corner Canyon was also a defensive clinic, but the Knights also put on an offensive showcase.
California Baptist commit Shawnee Nordstrom poured in 20 points with two assists, and Naia Tanuvasa supplied 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks as Lone Peak cruised to a 23-point win Wednesday at the Huntsman Center.
BYU commit Kennedy Woolston scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half to go along with 8 rebounds and two assists, and BYU signee Sarah Bartholomew supplied 6 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Knights (18-6).
Lone Peak wasted little time putting its stamp on the game, opening on a 14-0 tear en route to a 21-4 first-quarter lead.
Nordstrom had 12 points, and Tanuvasa added 10 points, three assists, two blocks and a steal in the first half as the Knights held Corner Canyon to just 3-of-21 shooting and 1-of-6 from 3-point range en route to a 33-10 advantage at the break.
Lone Peak, which shot 13-of-33 from the field in the first half, outscored the Chargers 7-0 in transition, 15-2 off turnovers, 16-4 in the paint, and 8-5 in second-chance points with a 24-15 rebounding margin.
The Knights never looked back, stretching the lead to 50-30 on Woolston's buzzer-beater to end the third quarter and cruising to the finish line with a 13-10 fourth quarter.
