Box Score TAYLORSVILLE, Utah (March 1, 2019) - One down, one to go.
That's the mindset of the Salt Lake Community College women's basketball team as they continue their run through the Region 18 tournament. The Bruins entered the tourney as the top seed and the top seed will move into Saturday's championship game, with Salt Lake downing USU Eastern 61-46 to earn a berth in the championship game.
SLCC coach
Betsy Specketer said the win was an impressive step in Salt Lake's attempts to defend its Region 18 championship.
"Tonight was a great team win," she said. "After being a little rattled and rushed in the first half, I thought we showed much more composure and poise in the second half. We're excited to be back in the championship game."
The first half was a back-and-forth battle with the two teams tied at 24-24 after the first quarter. In a statistical anomaly, that was the halftime score as neither team scored a point. However, SLCC rallied in the third quarter, taking a 39-35 lead into the final period after aggressively getting to the free-throw line and going 6-of-6 in the quarter.
With the game on the line, Salt Lake powered to a 22-11 advantage in the final quarter by limiting the Eagles to a 4-of-12 performance from the field. The fourth quarter finally told the story of the Bruins and their statistical dominance, with the team holding a 35-26 rebounding edge and a perfect 11-of-11 performance at the line.
Emma Villas-Gomis led Salt Lake with 15 points, while
Laura Pichot had 14 points.
Miki'ala Maio, the Region 18 Player-of-the-Year, scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Lauren Gustin posted 8 points and 20 rebounds.
Salt Lake will play Snow College in tomorrow's Region 18 championship game. The game is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start. The winner of the game will advance to the NJCAA National Tournament. Salt Lake held a 2-1 record against Snow in the regular season.
