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SALT LAKE — The Lone Peak Knights staggered after absorbing a gut punch from the Copper Hills Grizzlies.
So Shawnee and Zuri Nordstrom decided to take matters into their own hands.
The Nordstroms stepped up to hit three 3-pointers in a nearly 90-second span, launching a game-changing 11-0 run that pushed the lead to double digits, and Lone Peak locked down the rest of the way in a 65-47 victory over No. 1 seeded Copper Hills in the 6A girls basketball championship game Friday afternoon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Zuri Nordstrom accounted for all 12 of Lone Peak's bench points, with all of them coming from beyond the arc. She went 4-of-6 from deep in the game, and was 3-of-3 during the game-changing spurt.
"I didn't think I'd have this kind of a performance today," she said. "At the end of the day, it's all about the win."
It's something the Knights are getting used to, especially in March. Lone Peak became the first team in Utah high school sports history to win three consecutive state titles in girls basketball since Panguitch did so from 2014-16.
However, they will hold the distinction of being the first-ever 6A team to do so in girls basketball. The Lone Peak boys basketball team also won three consecutive titles from 2011-14, but not in 6A; the division was organized in 2017.
Lone Peak head coach Nancy Warner gave all the credit for the 3-peat to her players.
"They make sure that they are always ready to improve, ready to lock in, and ready to improve every day," Warner said.
Many of the players on the Knights have been through all three state title runs, which began with Lone Peak's double-overtime triumph over Fremont in March 2022 at the Marriott Center in Provo. That also completed an unprecedented 23-0 season for the Knights.
Zuri's sister, Shawnee, a Cal Baptist signee, was a sophomore when she won the first of her three championships in 2022, and Zuri said how she wanted to be a part of a celebration like her sister had.
"I was just watching them and just remembering how much I wanted to win," Zuri Nordstrom said.
That will to win showed through in the second quarter. After Copper Hills guard Ellie Taylor, an Utah Tech signee, scored 8 straight points by herself to give the Grizzlies a 16-15 lead, Lone Peak called a timeout. Warner then inserted Nordstrom and switched to a full-court press — and the game changed.
Shawnee Nordstrom started the run with a 3-pointer before Zuri hit two more 3-pointers in a row, and Lone Peak suddenly saw themselves up 26-16 at the end of the surge.
"That's really big shots for a freshman to hit in a state championship game," Copper Hills head coach Jake Timpson said. "Give credit to them for hitting big shots in big moments."
Warner said Zuri Nordstrom has never played like a freshman all season, which allowed her to step up in that moment.
"She comes in and has a calmness about her, like she's been there before," Warner said. "Her leadership really showed through in that time in the game."
Lone Peak's victory over the Grizzlies Friday also gained a measure of revenge for the Knights, who suffered a 52-47 home loss to Copper Hills back on December 12. Warner said ever since then, the focus has been on getting better every day.
"Even I learned about getting better as a coach," she said. "It's a credit to these girls for recognizing they had an opportunity to come together and win a third straight title together."
Timpson's Grizzlies will certainly learn as well; Copper Hills finished with 25 wins, the most in girls basketball program history, along with their first region title since 2019. The fourth-year head coach reminisced about what he has coming back next season.
"We've taken a huge step forward in being a team and being a family," he said. "The progress we made started last year in March. We'll be back in a week and get back to work."
