Senior Aliya Lester scored a team-best 18 points as the Emery Lady Spartans thwarted Carbon’s comeback attempt to win a thriller, 63-61 Tuesday night in Price.
Emery won each of the first three quarters and carried a 54-42 lead into the final stanza. Carbon responded with a quick 8-0 run to start the quarter and eventually captured the lead with under three minutes to play in regulation. A go-ahead three-pointer from Amiah Timothy gave Carbon a 61-59 advantage, but the final 2:30 belonged to Emery.
Lester immediately responded with a corner three, allowing Emery to regain the lead, 62-61. Carbon missed two perimeter jumpers on their next two possessions. One free throw from Emery’s Karleigh Stilson and an offensive rebound in the closing seconds was enough for the Lady Spartans to preserve the region win.
“The crowd is always big, it’s fun, it’s a good environment to be in and fortunately we came out on top,” said Emery head coach Jon Faimalo. “I felt like we were in a good position in the third quarter, but they made a heck of a run in the fourth and they really made it a ball game at the end.”
Carbon threw several runs at Emery throughout the evening, including a 9-0 run to open the second quarter, which gave the Lady Dinos a 22-14 lead. Emery responded to each run and managed to close the quarter out on a 20-7 run, holding the lead until Carbon’s fourth quarter rally.
Only four Emery players managed to score in Tuesday’s win. Sophomore Kenadie Maughan gathered 17 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Karleigh Stilson and Katelyn Nielson both contributed 14. Stilson and Lester combined to hit nine three-pointers to help carry the offense.
“We’ve been knocking on the door with a lot of these good teams, so it feels good to finally get one,” said Faimalo. “Somebody needed to make a play. Karleigh hit a big three, Aliya hit multiple big threes, Kenadie played huge for us, and it just seemed like someone was always making the big play.”
Even in defeat Carbon showed exactly why they are one of the top teams in 3A. Three players scored in double-figures as the team connected on nine three-point attempts. Scoring 19 points in the final eight minutes, the effort sparked fireworks for the loud home crowd.
Senior Madi Orth played limited minutes due to foul trouble but still managed to score 18 points before fouling out in the final seconds of regulation. Timothy put on a show in the fourth quarter as she scored seven of her 14 points, including two makes from beyond the arc. Jacie Jensen finished with 10 points and Bailey Curtis contributed seven.
Tuesday’s win is the third consecutive for Emery, moving the team to 13-8 overall with an 8-5 mark in Region 12 play. The Lady Spartans are locked in a three-way tie for third place in the division with Canyon View and Juab.
Carbon now sits 16-6 overall on the season and 11-2 in league play, one game back of Richfield for first place.
The regular season will end for both teams on Thursday night as they each will play host to ‘Senior Night’. Emery will welcome in North Sanpete, while Carbon will play host to Canyon View. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.