“We came here with a mission- to take home the championship,” Head Coach Trevor Jones told his team as they celebrated their win over Declo in the Ririe Bulldog Shootout Tournament, “And we just did that!” he finished.  The Lady Dragons competed in the three day Varsity/JV tournament where, if the season goes right, they will see again at the State tournament.

Malad began their tournament play by taking on The Ambrose School of Meridian.  Prepared for a tough contest, the Lady Dragons came out strong, easily handling the Archers and jumping to a quick 25-12 lead in the opening quarter.  Throughout the game, senior Oaklie Hebdon led the team with 20 points and 6 steals.  Point guard Izzy Haycock put numbers up across the board for the Lady Dragons, adding 9 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.  Brynnlee Jones came in with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal, helping her team defeat Ambrose, 63-42.

Advancing on in the tournament bracket, the Lady Dragons took on the Firth Cougars in their Friday matchup.  Having already played the Cougars in Firth, Malad knew it could be a challenging game and that they would need to play tough right from the tip off.  Unfortunately, their offense had a slow start to get going as they struggled to connect with the hoop.  But while they struggled to get things rolling on offense, their defense kept them in the game, taking away shooting opportunities, stealing passes and forcing the ball out of bounds.  Despite their hustle on defense, Firth led at the end of the first quarter, 15-20.

But something began to click as the Lady Dragons stepped back out on the floor in the second quarter.  Patiently working their offense, they passed the ball around when Hebdon found herself open on the arc and drained a three pointer.  On the very next possession, she hit another three pointer to help the Lady Dragons take the lead 27-26.  Falling into a groove, Hebdon managed a steal to convert into an easy lay up for two points with another shot from outside and suddenly Malad was up 34-28.

Not letting their foot off the gas, the Lady Dragons continued to push the ball on offense and made some impressive stops on defense.  Together the team totalled 16 steals against the Cougars, with Hallie Horsley and Haycock leading with 4 each, Hebdon with 3, Kiley Miller and Olivia Nelson 2 and Mikell Keetch with 1.  Battling it out to the very end, the Lady Dragons secured the victory with a pair of free throws by Keetch, with a minute left in the game, and Nelson with just 15 seconds to go in the game, making it 62-54.

With two wins behind them, the MHS girls basketball team had just one win to accomplish their goal to come out as the top team of the tournament.  Coming into the games, they knew Declo would be a tough contender with their impressive shooters, strong defense and fast paced game.  But they also knew they were up for the challenge.

The Lady Dragons were first to score as Horsley put up a jumper from outside the corner on the first MHS possession.  Taking the ball down the floor, Declo responded with a basket of their own, demonstrating from the start how the game was going to be.  The Hornets pulled ahead for just a moment at the start of the game, 3-6, when Hebdon drove into the key to put one off the glass with what would be her go-to move of the game to put points on the board for Malad.  Coming down the floor again, Haycock found Hebdon on the deep corner after an excellent screen from Nelson leaving her wide open for the three point shot to take the lead.

Both teams brought an intensity to the game, making it also a very physical and aggressive game.  Nelson would work all night, battling it out under the hoop to put up shots for the Lady Dragons, totalling up 13 points, scoring on over half of her attempts.  She would also lead the game in rebounds, grabbing 8 offensive rebounds and 6 defensive.  Her counterpart on the block, Horsley, would add another 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots from the post.

Malad did well to play a strategic game against the Hornets, both offensively and defensively.  As Declo was playing an aggressive defense, the Lady Dragons used that to their advantage, driving into the defense to draw fouls to put them on the free throw line.  Leading from the line was Haycock, putting up an impressive 12 for 16 shots at the line, scoring all her points of the night on bonus shots.

Defensively, the Lady Dragons put up a tough zone defense, keying in on Declo’s outside shooter as well as denying the pass into the high post, the pivotal point of their offense.  With quick movement, good communication and fast recovery, the Hornets were contested on nearly every shot. 

As they had predicted it would be, the championship game was a fight to the very end.  In just under a minute, both teams put up seven points, Declo desperate to pull ahead and Malad not willing to give up their hard fought lead.  The Lady Dragons came out with the win as the final buzzer rang out with the score at Malad 55, Declo 51.

Coach Jones shared about the tournament, saying, “The tournament was a great opportunity to play teams from all over the state.  It definitely was a testing experience to play against several teams that went to state last year and I’m sure will be there again this year. Starting off against the Ambrose Archers, a state contender last year, gave us a great opportunity to play against the western conference, then a battle against up and coming Firth team from the nuclear conference and then to finish the championship game with another last year state team that returned its whole team from the canyon conference. 

“Our girls are relentless. It is so fun to just watch them compete. With their tenacity, they have a real chance every time they step on the court. The girls believe in each other and cheer for each other. On the court or on the bench they lift each other up. #Family”

The Lady Dragons play at home in the upcoming week, hosting the Firth Cougars on Tuesday, December 5 and then the North Fremont Huskies on Saturday, December 9.