5A Championship Game: Pleasant Grove vs. West

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game was a true #1 vs #2 as most of the year these have been the two best teams, and West entered the game with only one loss, and that was to Mater Dei, California, and Pleasant Grove entered the game as the only undefeated team left in the entire state, and that included the boys' side. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Impact Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='873276' first='Sutton' last='Villa'], Pleasant Grove</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Having a 6'7" player like Villa inside immediately grants an advantage. She was able to move freely and dominate the paint. Villa utilized her height to grab rebounds and block shots. Even when she wasn't scoring, she controlled space, assisted defenders, and was a strong presence on the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='796794' first='Kylee' last='Falatea'], West</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although Falatea and her team fell short, you could easily see why Falatea was highly recruited and why she is heading to such a great program in Oregon. Falatea was trying her best to keep West close with timely drives and perimeter buckets. Defensively, she might be one of the best if not the best, two way player in the state. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Underclassmen Standouts</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='873279' first='Siri' last='Burgess'], Pleasant Grove</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Burgess was playing a role, but being able to get on the floor wth a lot of veteran players as a sophomore shows how much she has grown and how much they rusted her to defend and rebound.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='796473' first='Zuri' last='Nordstrom'], Pleasant Grove</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nordstrom is a player who just makes big shots, and with her high-arcing three-pointers built for the college setting, she came up big when she needed to. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Next Level Steals</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='879706' first='Cash' last='Connors'], Pleasant Grove</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Connors has improved drastically over the past few years and brings a unique skill set to the table. She can defend players of different sizes and is more mobile than ever, showing great potential. Her shot looks promising, and she will only continue to improve offensively at the next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='796805' first='Laite' last='Latu'], West</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='796805' first='Laite' last='Latu'], a 6'4" presence in the paint, makes an impact through her rebounding and shot-blocking abilities. While she might be underrated, her potential to develop into a Division I prospect after playing JUCO is certainly exciting.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Game Recap</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While both teams spent the first few minutes of the game feeling each other out like a boxer does with a jab, the game started to pick up. Villa and Latu showcased some of their interior play. Pleasant Grove started to try and pick things up with their guards, and the guard that took advantage of the day was Janice Sikander. While Sikander was able to get open looks, it just started to open things up. Falatea tried to will her team to crawl back in the game, but there were just not that many open looks. PG later took over the tempo and the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->