5A state girls basketball: Bountiful denies West's undefeated season with 3-peat title

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Bountiful had been in the same situation many times before, including each of the past two 5A girls basketball state championship games, to know that top-seeded West had too much talent to go away.

Eventually, the Panthers were going to make a run at the two-time defending champs. The Redhawks just had to be ready for it.

They were.

Milika Satuala had 17 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks; and Maleah Nelson scored 7 of her 15 points just 34 seconds apart to help Bountiful hold off West 57-47 for its third consecutive title Friday night at the Huntsman Center at the University of Utah.

Texas volleyball signee Taylor Harvey added 9 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Redhawks, who handed West its first loss of the year.

"We knew all along that West had a run in them. You knew they had one coming," Bountiful coach Joel Burton said. "It's just too good of a team to hold down like that. When it comes, we've just got to have a response.

"The response didn't necessarily come from the person who I was expecting, but Maleah's had a good tournament. I wasn't surprised that she hit those shots, either; she's our best shooter, and it's fun to see her get out of her as a sophomore and make those big shots."

That's the thing about Bountiful. It's probably cliche to say a team can lead by any given player on any given night.

But that might be the case for the Redhawks (24-2), who were led all year by Harvey (15.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 steals, 1.5 blocks per game) and Satuala (14.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists) around a core nucleus of players like Nelson, Charlotte Johnson, Adelaide Stevenson and Brynna Castleton, who keyed a defense that held West to 35% shooting and just 1-of-10 from the 3-point line.

So when the Panthers pushed, Bountiful was ready.

"We knew that we had to focus and lock back in," Satuala said. "We know teams are going to get runs. But our job was how we react and how we came back in the game.

"We've been in situations like this, and we know how to treat them. We know what it's going to be like, and if we put our hard work, we know it's going to work out."

Harvey and Satuala helped Bountiful absorb an early punch en route to a 26-18 halftime lead, the previously unbeaten Panthers (24-1) came right back.

Kylee Falatea scored 2 of her team-high 16 points on a smooth jumper to tie the game at 34-34 in the third quarter, and West — just two nights removed from a heart-stopping 52-51 win over Salem Hills on Kaydence Falatea's late 3-pointer — never trailed by more than a possession through the fourth quarter.

That's when Nelson got free from beyond the arc, converting a 4-point play with 4:46 remaining and another triple from two steps past the top of the arc 34 seconds later to give the Redhawks a 49-41 lead to pull away for good.

"I just tried to stay locked in until the very end," Nelson said. "I missed two threes before that, but I just kept looking for the next play. And it was awesome.

"I was just focused."

It's the fifth championship for Bountiful, including four since 2016 with Burton, who improved to 259-136 all-time with the Redhawks. But like he's done for over a decade, the veteran coach deferred credit to his players.

"It's hasn't been necessarily about who scores or who gets the glory, but that we win," Burton said. "It's impressive to see a couple of our leading scorers and the big shining moments, but they're all just happy for each other.

"That's one of the special things about this team — and we've seen it for three years. It's awesome to see."

Ale Fonoti and Tiana Fa each had 11 points and four rebounds for West, which got eight boards from Kayden Falatea.

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Sean Walker

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KSL.com BYU and college sports reporter