A huge second quarter helped propel the Emery Lady Spartans past the Millard Eagles 67-62 in the fifth place game of the 2A state championship tournament Saturday morning at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.

Trailing 21-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Lady Spartans outscored Millard 22-7 in the second as the bench pushed the tempo on both sides of the floor. Led by Bailey Huggard, the Lady Spartans captured a 34-28 lead at half time and never looked back.

Huggard finished with a team best 11 points, eight steals, four rebounds and two assists. Leading the second unit off of the bench Emery's freshman group was too much for Millard. Megan Jensen and Kacelyn Toomer both scored 10 points and Camrey Johnson finished with seven.

Junior Sariah Swallow paced the Eagles with 17 points in the setback. Senior Emily Barber connected on four-of-six attempts from the perimeter to finish with 15 points and Payton Miller ended with 13.

As a team Emery shot a blistering 54-percent from the field, including six-of-13 from the three-point line. Millard also shot a high percentage from the field, finishing 48-percent total and 54-percent from beyond the arc.

Saturday's win brings an end to a highly successful season for the Lady Spartans. After finishing 9-1 in Region 15 play, Emery tied with North Sevier for first place. Losing a coin flip on the final day of the regular season, Emery was awarded the No. 2 seed for the state tournament.

Despite a successful showing in the opening round with a 52-46 win over Maesar Prep, the Lady Spartans' championship hopes were crushed by Delta in the quarterfinals. Emery could not hold on to a slim half time lead and eventually lost 53-45.

Dropping to the consolation bracket on Friday, Emery extended their season by defeating South Sevier 53-41. Friday's win set the stage for the season finale Saturday morning against Millard.

Stay tuned to Castle Country Radio for a complete season recap for the Emery Lady Spartans in the coming days.