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Davis High's Chloe Peery (2) looks toward the paint during a drive against Westlake in a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's T'Maea Eteuati, right, drives against a Westlake defender during a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's Mari Nichols, center, tries to get up a shot against Westlake defenders during a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's T'Maea Eteuati (1) rises to shoot over Westlake's Isley Sauvao (32) during a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's Emma Loveland drives the ball during a 6A state quarterfinal against Syracuse on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High girls basketball head coach Nicole Waddoups, center, cheers her team's effort during a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's Kate Willard (4) shoots against a challenge from a Westlake defender during a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's Lydia Tarbet (25) drives past Westlake's Ella Seymore (21) during a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's T'Maea Eteuati rises for a one-handed shot attempt during a 6A state quarterfinal against Westlake on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Davis High's Mari Nichols, left, shoots against Westlake's Avery Thompson (23) during a 6A state quarterfinal Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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SALT LAKE CITY — In addition to battling No. 3 Westlake, No. 6 Davis High girls basketball had to battle inexperience, illness, injury and poor free-throw shooting down the stretch in its 6A quarterfinal playoff game Monday evening.

Still, the Darts prevailed, 46-44, and advanced to the semifinals against No.7 Lone Peak at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the University of Utah.

Davis shot 3 of 12 from the free-throw line in the last 46.5 seconds but also outmuscled Westlake for three offensive rebounds off those bricks.

“No. 32 (Isley Sauvao) is strong; I like the competition. The lower she goes, the lower I go,” Davis senior Mari Nichols said. “Whoever is the lowest is most likely to get the ball. I made sure to be physical with her.”

Among all of those charity toss clunkers, Davis sophomore Kate Willard was able to shake off the shivers and make two with 28.2 seconds left after missing a pair just seconds earlier.

“I think it’s the environment for me, the bright lights and everything. Sometimes I’m too quick and thinking about everything else. I went up there and focused on my follow-through. I was like ‘I have to make these two’ … figured out what I did wrong on the first ones and fixed it for the next ones,” Willard said. “Next game we should knock them down and we can focus. I got sick two days ago and hopefully I’ll be better Wednesday.”

Willard’s free throws gave Davis a 46-41 edge and four more misses narrowly didn’t doom the Darts.

“We didn’t need them, sorta. It’s a big stage and some of the girls on the foul line have never been there before in those circumstances,” Davis coach Nicole Waddoups said. “Game to game you don’t know what’s going to happen. In the second round (on Friday) we made four foul shots we really needed to make, including two with 2.2 seconds on the clock.”

As a sophomore, Willard and junior guard T’Maea Eteuati are the only girls on the Davis team with any significant tournament time.

“It definitely helped to get some experience last year. Me and T’Maea played on this court last year, got a feel of the pace of the game,” Willard said. “(It) helped me to play to the best of my ability and be comfortable.”

Davis (17-6) jumped to a 15-4 first-quarter lead, fueled by the bench — specifically Nichols. She had seven of her 11 points in the first quarter.

“I actually love being sixth man. I like seeing the competition from the bench first and there’s never a better time to see it in real life, “Nichols said. “You can see who’s on today, who’s off when they shoot, when they score; their moves.”

Nichols tallied her other four points in the fourth frame to help hold off the Thunder (18-7).

“I’m super sick; I’ve kind of been gassed this week, so sometimes I’m a little bigger on defense than I am on offense, but I try to adapt by passing the ball, screening people to get open, make sure they get shots; then rebound,” Nichols said.

The Darts now face another challenge besides Lone Peak because Eteuati left the game late in the fourth quarter with a severe ankle injury and did not return.

“It sucks that she’s hurt but when some of our teammates are down, the rest of us try and step up,” Willard said. “When I fall, I know my sisters will get me back up. We’re a family; that’s all that’s important.”

Eteuati led the Darts with 14 points and Willard netted 12.

Nichols is a senior transfer and only played half the year, Willard joined the team late because she was playing soccer and, with Eteuati possibly out, the Darts are thin in playoff-seasoned players.

Waddoups feels maybe the Darts have an ace in the hole with Nichols, however.

“We have fought all year. Mari is someone a lot of teams don’t know about. She’s super raw out there, but she can post up,” Waddoups said. “She tries to get to the basket when she can. I’m super proud of the girls.

“We don’t know anything about T’Maea yet. We have a junior and a sophomore who can fill in, but we lose a lot if she can’t go. She’s a big part of our team and how we play; we’re hoping she can find a way,” Waddoups said.

Coming from a rugged Region 1, Willard hopes the Darts can tough it out Wednesday.

“We know we’re a good team. We struggled at the start of the season. We kept progressing through the year and we know we can beat any team, no matter what,” Willard said.