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CEDAR CITY — The Kanab girls basketball team will head to the 2A championship game for the fourth year in a row after defeating the Draper APA Eagles 64-50 Friday night.
Kanab made 10 3-pointers, led heavily by Savannah Bateman with 12 of her 14 points coming from beyond the arc. Along with Bateman, Anna Cutler contributed to the Kanab offense with 10 points.
The Eagles didn't shoot too bad from deep, either, making eight 3-pointers in the game, with La'la Baldwin and Sammy Kartchner hitting three each. Kartchner was also the only player with a double-double after scoring 11 points and collecting 10 rebounds.
From the start, it looked like Kanab's game. After a full scoreless minute, Kanab got its offense going and went on a 16-0 run before the Eagles had an answer. They finally responded in the last minute of the quarter, which included a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Baldwin.
The Eagles came out firing in the second quarter when Baldwin and Kartchner went back-to-back from beyond the arc. Kanab followed with an 8-0 run, but the Eagles stayed in it and nearly held par, being outscored just 13-11 in the quarter.
Coming back from the break, Kanab held a 29-16 lead. Both teams went cold for just over two minutes until APA's Taylor Stratton broke the slump with a layup. The third period of play consisted of primarily 3s and layups, with Kanab ending the quarter on top 46-29.
The fourth quarter was the highest scoring for both teams, and one in which the Eagles outscored Kanab 21-18. There were six made 3s in the final eight minutes from both teams combined. Despite finding their offensive groove, the deficit was too much for the Eagles, and Kanab walked away with a 14-point win.
Kanab will play the North Summit Braves in the final game of the tournament Saturday at 5 p.m.
