Summary

The Carbon Lady Dinos used a heavy fourth quarter push to pull away from the Delta Rabbits for a 63-50 win Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the 3A State Tournament at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.

The Carbon Lady Dinos used a heavy fourth quarter push to pull away from the Delta Rabbits for a 63-50 win Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the 3A State Tournament at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.

Clinging to a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter, Carbon finished the game on a 18-7 run to earn the victory. The team is now just two wins away from a state championship.

“I was a little disappointed in our first half performance. I felt like we let a couple rebounds get by and a couple of loose balls,” said head coach Cami Carlson following the win. “We fixed it a little bit in the second half. It could have been better, but we got after it and got the win.”

Madi Orth poured in a team best 16 points to go along with nine rebounds to lead Carbon. Orth was effective in every aspect of the game, also finishing a perfect 5-5 from the stripe.

The Carbon front court proved to be too much for the Rabbits. Tatum Tanner added 11 points and eight boards, while Haley Garish finished with nine points and five boards.

While the front court shined in Thursday’s win, the Dinos delivered a balanced attack offensively as eight different players scored at least one point. The Carbon bench also outscored Delta 18-3.

With the game hanging in the balance the Lady Dinos flipped to a box-and-one defense, neutralizing Delta standout Kate Smith. Smith scored a game-high 26 points, but did most of her damage in the first three quarters.

“Smith leads everything on offense for them,” said Carlson. “She proved to be a formidable opponent. I thought Amiah (Timothy) did a terrific job on her defensively.”

Carbon will now prepare for the No. 1 ranked Grantsville Cowboys Friday afternoon for a chance to play in the State Championship on Saturday. The meeting will be the second of the season between the two schools. Carbon won that game back on December 6 by a final score of 51-43.

Live coverage of Friday’s semi-finals matchup will air live on KRPX 95.3 The Peak beginning with coverage at 3:45. Tip-off will follow at 4:10.