For the first time in 36 years, the Lady Rams are headed to the State finals thanks to a successful game against the Mountainview Bruins. This Thursday at the Huntsman Center, the girls proved themselves worthy enough to make it to the finals.

With three freshmen on the floor at once, and one of them a leading scorer, the Rams pulled into the lead during the 3rd quarter and held onto it until the end. 

The Bruins had a lot of momentum in the beginning and the atmosphere had a lot to do with it. One minute before the game started, the sight of empty stands was discouraging, but the Cheerleaders got held up by Security.

As the game got closer, the atmosphere intensified also as the Highland student section began to trickle in.

The Rams remained behind for a majority of the first half, but the game always remained close. When halftime arrived, the score was 22-23 with the Rams down by one point.

The second half was a whole different story. Highland pulled together and applied pressure on defense. So much so that the Bruins could barely get their shots in.

That momentum going into the second half lasted all the way to the end of the game.

The Rams’ rebounds improved and Freshman Sose Langi ended the game with a total of 11 rebounds, followed closely by Senior Kaija Glasker with 10 rebounds. Most of those rebounds occurred in the latter half of the game.

Samiana Sugatura, from Mountainview, got 17 points in the first three quarters, but got into foul trouble and was scoreless for the final quarter. It impacted the Bruins because one of their key players had to sit on the bench when the game was reaching its peak.

Leading scorers for the Rams were Langi, with 19 points, followed by Glasker, with 16 points. 

“They’re a good duo (Glasker and Langi) and they just make things happen.” Head Coach Schneider had to say about the girls feeding off each other’s energy.

Some other top contributors for the Rams were Junior Lei Makaui, who excelled in her three-point shooting, and Freshman Carsyn Stephenson, who also got some good threes up.

Overall the girls worked really well together and it is no surprise that they made it this far.

Highland will compete against Springville for the Girls 5A State Championship on Saturday at 11 AM. Make sure to be there and wear white to support your Lady Rams!