Bountiful

Bountiful High and Springville High girls basketball teams were among the top two 5A squads all season so it seemed fitting that the Redhawks and the Red Devils played for the state championship. Bountiful beat the defending state champions 41-39 March 4 at Weber State University to claim the trophy for themselves. 

“I’m so proud of the girls for what they’ve done all year long,” said head coach Joel Burton. “They were tough and gritty and survived playing some really high quality teams at state. It feels awesome.”

The title game went down to the wire with Redhawks senior Lizzy McConkie hitting a key three-pointer to tie the game before freshman Milika Satuala hit the eventual game winner with just seconds left in the contest as Bountiful prevailed. Despite a close game throughout, Springville had the upper hand much of the way as the Red Devils led by as many as nine points with two minutes left in the third quarter.

“Winning state was such a surreal moment – to play a team like Springville and beat them while playing with my sister [Taylor], my dad [assistant Tony] and my amazing team is something I will never forget,” said senior Jordyn Harvey.

“We worked so hard to get here and it feels weird that we don’t have to go to practice now after school, but it also feels completed,” said sophomore Taylor Harvey. “This was the best way to end the season, and sharing this with my sister and my dad just made it a hundred times better. It will be one big giant memory that we will all remember.”

Satuala, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, came up big in her first high school postseason tournament with 16 points while Tournament Most Valuable Player Taylor Harvey added 10 points in the championship game. The duo also combined for 12 rebounds to lead the team.

“Milika just finds a way and really stepped up when she needed to and has done that all season. She is the best freshman in the state,” Burton said. “Taylor was facing a double and triple team much of the game and so in the end we were really working to get a good shot late. We always say that when you’re open, you have to take the shot and we’ll live with the result.”

Burton noted the key that senior leadership – particularly with forward Jordyn Harvey – played in the team’s state championship win. “She only scored two points, but they were huge points. But, she didn’t force anything and instead kept everyone loose with her calming influence,” he said. 

“My role has always been to help bring energy and help my team in every way possible either by doing things in the game like scoring, rebounding, playing hard on defense or by supporting my team, bringing energy and having everyone’s back,” said Jordyn Harvey.

Several of the Redhawks players were also part of the BHS soccer team who lost in the 5A state championship and the volleyball squad who lost in the semis this past fall. Burton said that while he is not glad those teams lost, it certainly provided additional motivation for his players to finish out the season on top. “That really left our girls hungry and they wanted to finish as champions,” he said, adding that the postgame locker room celebration that left him soaked was well worth it.

In the state quarterfinals March 1, Bountiful beat Highland 65-59, battling back from a close game and being down by as much as seven points to end the game with a 21-13 showing in the fourth quarter.

Taylor Harvey scored 21 points while McConkie added 12 and Jordyn Harvey had nine points and eight rebounds.

Against Skyline in the semis March 3, the Redhawks won 41-34. The game went back and forth through three quarters with Bountiful outscoring the Eagles 12-7 to end the game.

The Harvey sisters combined for 23 points with Jordyn Harvey leading on the glass with nine rebounds to reach the state championship game.

“All of that passion and hard work through the season unfolded in the locker room before each game,” said Taylor Harvey. “I could see it in everyone’s eyes how much they wanted this win. And I think that was the difference between winning state or losing – passion for the game.”

Also on the 2022-23 squad who went 23-1 this season in bringing Bountiful its first state championship as a 5A team were seniors Claire Cook, Morgan Terry and Hayley Smith; juniors Elsie Burton, Elli Buys, Ellyse Kessler, Savannah Stewart, Melissa Turpin, Daisy Williams, Summer Willis and Megan Youngberg; sophomores Ellen Davis, Isabeau Hoff, Mae Johnson, Anna Larson, Eliza Naegle, Abby Orme and Sayu Yamashita; and freshmen Charlotte Johnson, Milika Satuala and Adelaide Stevenson.

“The journey was a tough, but fun journey,” said Jordyn Harvey. “Every practice we focused on what we needed to be better at and every girl on the team came to practice and worked hard because we all had the same goal of winning state in mind. We understood that even in tough moments we would only use it to make us stronger.”

Burton was assisted by Tony Harvey, Kendal Ludwig and Sheridan Graham on the coaching staff this year.

Davis

Davis’ tremendous season – where they spent much of the year ranked in the top five – ended in the 6A state semifinals, losing to Skyridge 49-36.

The teams were tied at 14-all at the end of the first quarter but the Darts managed just 14 points through the next two quarters – while giving up 29 to the Falcons – as the game began to get out of hand and, despite outscoring Skyridge 8-6 over the final eight minutes, it wasn’t enough.

Junior Kendra Kitchen led Davis with 17 points and eight rebounds while senior Aryanna Bull and freshman Etuati T’maea also grabbed eight boards a piece.

In the quarterfinals Feb. 28, the Darts defeated Herriman 48-44, outscoring the Mustangs 12-7 coming out of halftime where the teams were tied at 24-all. That burst ultimately proved to be the difference to get Davis to the final four.

T’maea led the Darts in scoring with 13 with junior Kate Richards adding 12 and Bull 10.

Also on the DHS team whose season record was 20-3 were juniors Maya Chino, Avery Dain, Savannah Grimm, Olivia Lifferth, Shea Miller and Maxine Van Brocklin; and sophomores Chloe Peery, Sydney Plummer, Aubrey Simons and Maki West.