The Grand County High School girls basketball team lost twice last week, falling to Manti on the road and losing to San Juan at home.
At Manti on Tuesday, Jan. 31, the Lady Devils led almost the entire game, including 17-12 at halftime.
“We played well offensively throughout the game, but we did get in foul trouble early,” said GCHS head coach Randy Martin. “With five seconds left we were still ahead by three, but they managed to catch up to us at the end.”
In the closing seconds of regulation, a Grand player committed a foul while a Manti player was shooting a 3-pointer. The shooter then made all three free throws to force overtime.
During the overtime period, the Lady Templars outscored Grand 6-3 to pull away with a 51-48 win, which was Manti’s first region win of the season. Two nights later, Manti defeated Gunnison 47-40 to improve to 2-5 in region play.
Meanwhile, Grand remained winless in region play after the tough loss, but coach Martin said he was encouraged to see his team’s balanced scoring. Senior forward Katie McKay led the way with 12 points, while sophomore guards Hannah Owen and Josie Camps each added 10 points.
“Katie played an amazing game, both offensively and defensively,” Martin said, adding, “Hannah also had a great game, and managed to play the whole second half with four fouls.”
Two nights later, on Thursday, Feb. 2, the Lady Devils lost at Moab to the San Juan Lady Broncos by a score of 56-46.
Grand started off the game on a promising note, leading 13-12 at the end of the first quarter. But San Juan outscored the Lady Devils 15-10 during the second quarter and 13-10 during the third to build a seven-point lead heading into the final period.
McKay was again Grand’s top scorer, finishing with 16 points. Sophomore center Veda Gritts added nine points, and senior guard Delanee Olsen contributed seven points.
“San Juan was able to score from the key relatively easily and they kept us out of position all night,” said coach Martin. “They pulled away from us at the end, and our defense really let us down.”
The loss dropped the Lady Devils’ record to 6-10 overall, 0-8 in Region 15 play. This week, Grand will wrap up its season with three scheduled games. After playing at Monticello in a non-region contest on Tuesday, Feb. 7, the Lady Devils will travel to Emery to face the Lady Spartans in a region contest on Thursday, Feb. 9. On Saturday afternoon, Feb. 11, Grand will have a rematch with Manti at Moab. That game will end the Lady Devils’ season, as they have already been eliminated from playoff contention. Grand’s three senior players — McKay, Olsen and reserve guard Krystal Beck — will be honored before Saturday’s game, which starts at 4 p.m.