Prep basketball: St. Joseph girls bounce back against ALA heading into final curve
Northridge boys fall to Viewmont at home
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- St. Joseph senior Katelyn Martinez (5) brings the ball down the floor during a game against American Leadership Academy on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph senior Lizzie Randall reacts after a play against American Leadership Academy on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Ogden.
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- St. Joseph head girls basketball coach Masen White meets with his team for a timeout during a game Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Ogden.
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- The St. Joseph girls basketball team meets before tipoff of a home game vs. American Leadership Academy on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Ogden.
OGDEN — Some teams are defined by their mistakes, while others are defined by how quickly they pull themselves back up. In the back catalog of the regular season, St. Joseph girls basketball finds itself in the business of both.
Down two starters in a 50-point loss at Draper on Tuesday, the Jayhawks regrouped defensively against American Leadership Academy for a 45-13 home win Thursday.
Seniors Lizzie Randall (14 points) and Abby Gough (13 points) led the Jayhawks (8-5, 5-2 Region 17) to a sizzling start in the first half.
Led by Gough in the first quarter, St. Joseph rose to a 15-point lead, allowing just one field goal by the Eagles through the first eight minutes. Gough added five more points before the break, with the Jayhawks receiving a 3-point basket by Randall and a 2-pointer by senior Cicily Flores.
Senior Katelyn Martinez (four points) entered the night as the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, averaging 10.0 points per night. The senior point guard pointed to Gough’s presence on the defensive end as the tone-setter for St. Joseph early on.
“We like to run fast, and with (Gough) on the court we’re able to get those steals,” Martinez said.
Eager to see his defense return to form, St. Joseph head coach Masen White drew on what he calls “mindful minutes” to see his group back into the win column after a discouraging defeat to begin the week.
“We take minutes to ourselves to really think about what we’re about to go into,” White said. “We get presence at the moment. We’re not thinking about outside factors. … We’ve done that with a few programs now and it’s been successful for us.”
Randall added her second 3-pointer in the third quarter, leading the charge for a big finish featuring a field goal by junior Eliza Berg off the bench. St. Joseph held ALA to a single free throw in the fourth quarter.
Familiar with her opponent, Martinez views every game as an opportunity to be the more-confident program. Thursday’s win now completes the Jayhawks’ regular-season sweep of the Eagles heading into their final six-game stretch.
“I think our biggest difference from game to game is just our ball movement,” Martinez said.
“From our last game, we just didn’t see a lot of it. But coming into this game, we were really hyped because we’d already played (ALA) and we want to keep a lot of momentum going into each game.”
The Jayhawks return to action next Tuesday at Maeser Prep Academy. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
Box score
American L. 2 5 5 1 – 13
St. Joseph 17 10 8 10 – 45
ALA (13): Gamble 5, Carter 2, Hernandez 2, Walters 1, Carpenter 1.
SJC (45): Randall 14, Gough 13, Flores 6, Berg 6, Martinez 4, Dewitte 2.
BOYS BASKETBALL
VIEWMONT 75, NORTHRIDGE 66
LAYTON — Northridge had Viewmont tied to a 54-54 knot through three quarters Wednesday, but the Vikings (8-7, 4-1 Region 5) took the fourth quarter 21-12 to claim a road win.
Cael Lake led Northridge (4-10, 2-3) with 27 points. Luke Bailey scored 15 points and Daniel Sunkuli added eight.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker. Sports editor Brett Hein contributed to this story.
