The Lady Rams suffered a season-ending defeat Wednesday, losing to Alta 51-36 in the State 4A Quarterfinals. Highland trailed the entire game but were always chipping at the Hawks lead. This game was much closer than the scoreboard indicated though. The Rams cut Alta’s lead to 28-26 in the third quarter with all of the momentum. But, a three pointer by Alta then a steal on the ensuing inbounds play resulting in a five point swing erased all momentum that Highland had built up.
Highland’s physical play gave the undersized Hawks problems all game long but in the end, Alta’s Kemery sisters were too much. Both finished with 14 points each. Alta played with a full court press after every one of their made baskets and it caused many problems for the Rams. Multiple turnovers were committed trying to break this press which resulted in easy offense for Alta.
The Rams were led by Senior Marlee Machon who finished with nine points as well as Nani Tonga who had seven points as well as Alex Debow and Lea Havili who both had 6 points.
“We fought hard but let it get away from us,” Machon said.
Highland had many opportunities to overcome Alta’s lead but missed shots and layups eliminated these opportunities quickly. There were many open shots that were not falling on this night.
“We made too many mistakes and against a good team like Alta, you can’t make mistakes like that,” Machon said.
The Lady Rams finished (18-5) on the season. The highlight of the season was their first playoff win in many years on Monday against Olympus. Highland made many strides on and off the court, gaining the respect that is deserved from the State. Leading scorer Marlee Machon will be graduating in the Summer. But, there are many young players that were given valuable experience for future years.