1 / 12

Davis High guard T'Maea Eteuati (1) rises to the basket against Roy's Rihanna May on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

2 / 12

Roy's Talyeah Valdez, left, and Rihanna May, right, squeeze out Davis High's Chloe Peery (2) going for a loose ball on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

3 / 12

Davs High's Kate Willard (4) drives against Roy's Ellie Speredon (1) on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

4 / 12

Roy's Jersee Hart (21) eyes the basket against Davis High's Kate Willard (4) and Aubrey Simons (10) on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

5 / 12

Davis High's Sydney Plummer, right, looks to pass against the defense of Roy's Talyeah Valdez on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

6 / 12

Davis High's Aubrey Simons (10) dribbles against the defense of Roy's Rihanna May on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

7 / 12

Davis High's Chloe Peery (2) and Roy's Jerzee Hart (21) reach for a loose ball on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

8 / 12

Roy High's Jerzee Hart prepares to shoot during a game against Davis on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

9 / 12

Roy's Rihanna May (30) rises to shoot against Davis on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

10 / 12

Davis High's T'Maea Eteuati (1) drives the ball against Roy on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

11 / 12

Roy's Ellie Speredon (1) hauls in a ball in front of Davis High's Kiara Zwonitzer (22) on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

12 / 12

Davis High girls basketball coach Nicole Waddoups leads her team in a huddle during a game against Roy on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in Roy.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

❮ ❯

ROY — Davis High junior guard T’Maea Eteuati gathered the basketball in the lane and went up strong for a shot, time and time again, in a girls hoops game at Roy on Friday night.

Eteuati’s game has evolved over the past two years, since she barely tipped the scales at 5 feet as a freshman and grew some 7 inches.

“One thing I’ve been working on is jumping and plyometrics because I’m still on the shorter side but I figure if I can outjump them, it doesn’t matter how tall they are,” Eteuati said. “My approach has been a little different; I keep working to get better and I’m really grateful I’ve been able to make a difference and improve each year.”

Eteuati scored 20 points and Davis built on its lead every quarter, rocking the Royals 50-35 in a non-region encounter.

“I’m really happy. We had a good practice yesterday and were well prepared for this game,” Eteuati said. “We played as a team and everybody brought it today. We were all working hard and wanted it on the court.”

Extending the lane 15 feet from the basket to include the free-throw line, Eteuati scored 14 of her 20 points in the paint on charity tosses, floaters, layups and rebounds. She also added three assists and garnered five boards.

“My overall game was helped by the support of my teammates,” Eteuati said. “I still have a lot to do; one thing I’ve improved on is court IQ and spacing. I’ve started to drive a lot more, but still have my shooting with it.”

This meant Eteuati’s two 3-pointers were not an anomaly, a carryover from her younger years.

“I like to create either way. Midrange shots, 3s, driving into the lane. I just focus on what the defense is giving me,” Eteuati said. “I make sure I know where my defender is and where my teammates are.”

Davis (5-3) won three competitive quarters (12-9, 12-10, 14-11) before opening the final frame on a 12-1 run to put the game away.

“We knew we had to shut No. 30 (Rihanna May) down and come with intensity and be intentional in everything we did. We had to go out there and get this one,” Eteuati said. “Make sure we’re playing good defense and good offense, and executing the plays.”

May finished with 14 points for the Royals and senior center Jerzee Hart scored six points and pulled down eight rebounds. Junior guard Jazzi Prieto netted eight points on 3 of 5 shooting.

Kate Willard came off the bench for Davis to score eight points and grab seven rebounds, while Kiara Zwonitzer contributed seven points in a reserve role.

The Darts’ defense was especially stout in the first half when they forced 17 turnovers. Roy (2-6) rallied to a degree in the second half and cut the miscues down to 10 after the break.

“We were just running their game, frustrated and moving along and not slowing it down and playing at our pace,” Hart said. “If we would have made our free throws and actually made our layups, we could have been down a little less.”

Roy hurt itself on the offensive end by failing to score a field goal in the first four minutes of three different quarters.

“We just panicked for a second. The first quarter we weren’t really ready for them and kind of started losing it, not knowing what to do,” Hart said.