Wolverines Fall Short of Region Title
Mar 10, 2016 12:05PM ● By Bryan Scott
By Greg James | [email protected]
West Valley - The Hunter High School girls basketball team probably feels like they are swimming against the current.
The Wolverines opened their season with three straight losses. Their initial win came against Tooele Dec. 7. It was a game they controlled from the beginning. They held the Buffalos to 1 point in the first quarter and led at halftime 31-10. That win propelled the Wolverines onto five straight victories. They looked like a team to beat in Region 2.
Their winning streak included close wins over Jordan (41-39) and West Jordan (25-24), but it also included their largest victory of the season: a 52-15 drubbing of Ben Lomond. The Wolverines led from the start, and Kimauri Toia scored 11 points in the victory.
Senior Jennifer Burnham was the leading scorer for the Wolverines this season, averaging 12.3 points per game. Her season high came in the team’s first region game against Syracuse, with 23 points in the contest.
Against Syracuse, the Wolverines jumped out to an 18-6 lead early on. They led by five at the half, 22-17, and never looked back. Their 49-33 victory was the team’s first of three region wins this season. They beat Syracuse twice and Granger once, 44-40.
Burnham had a team high of 30 three-pointers this season. Although the Wolverines struggled to score points in bulk this season, they did average 35 points per game in region play. They allowed 43.6 per game.
The Wolverines were the defending Region 2 champions and made their second-straight state tournament appearance. Last season they lost in the first round to Davis, 44-36.
The members of the 2015-16 girls team include April Semeatu, Katrina Azevedo, Savannah Makakona, Tofe Nai, Jennifer Burnham, McKenna Newell, Joycelin Lui, Roni Lui, Finau Tauteoli, McKenna Miller, Makalita Lapuaho and Kimauri Toia.
Head coach Chelsea Robinson is in her fourth season at Hunter. She has compiled a 33-53 overall record. In her first season as head coach, they only won two games.
Region 2 was completely overhauled before this season. Syracuse, Layton, Viewmont, Granger, West and Davis joined the Wolverines region. Davis, Layton and Viewmont all advanced to the quarterfinals of last season’s state tournament.
This season’s state tournament was scheduled for Feb. 23-27 at Salt Lake Community College (after press deadline).
