We’ve reached the halfway point of the Region 11 schedule and a clear pecking order has begun to emerge among the teams. Here’s a summary of each of the teams and how the region schedule has been going for them so far. The order of teams listed is the order they currently are in the standings.
Cache Valley Media Group will be broadcasting a Region 11 Girls Basketball Game of the Week which will feature each team in the region at least once. Each game will be broadcast live on 107.7 KLZX and be streamed live on cachevalleydaily.com with play-by-play and commentary from the various voices of Cache Valley Media Group broadcast teams. Check here for the full schedule, though each team’s capsule will include which games will be broadcast along with what day it will be on.
Per Game Stat Leaders
- Points
- Emilee Skinner (Ridgeline) – 21.6
- Gracie Riley (Bear River) – 15.7
- Maren McKenna (Green Canyon) – 15.7
- Rebounds
- Gracie Riley (Bear River) – 10.1
- Kali Jones (Mountain Crest) – 10.0
- Maren McKenna (Green Canyon) – 9.4
- Assists
- Jenna LaCroix (Bear River) – 3.7
- Cambree Tensmeyer (Green Canyon) – 3.6
- Three tied at 3.4
- Steals
- Lily Smith (Mountain Crest) – 3.4
- Halle Smith (Ridgeline) – 3.1
- Emilee Skinner (Ridgeline) – 2.9
- Blocks
- Melanie Hiatt (Sky View) – 2.8
- Kali Jones (Mountain Crest) – 2.7
- Marissa Best (Green Canyon) – 2.1
Ridgeline
Region Record: 5-0 (17-0 Overall)
RPI Rank: 1st
Points Per Game: 65.5 (1st in 4A)
Points Allowed Per Game: 38.6 (1st in 4A)
Stat Leaders
- Points – Emilee Skinner (21.6)
- Rebounds – Emilee Skinner (6.8)
- Assists – Emilee Skinner (3.4)
Upcoming Region 11 Game of the Week appearances
- February 2 at Green Canyon
- February 7 vs Bear River
Teams as good as the Riverhawks only come around once in a while. Ridgeline is simply a class above the rest of Region 11 and the rest of 4A at the moment. Last year Ridgeline marched through region play with a 10-0 mark behind a rotation built on mostly freshmen and sophomores, including freshman Emilee Skinner who averaged 18 points per game.
This season, with all its players a year older and wiser, the team is even better having gone undefeated to this point and no sign of slowing down. Skinner is averaging 21.3 points per game – narrowly behind Olivia Hamlin for highest in 4A and fifth overall in Utah girls basketball as a whole – on even better efficiency than last year. Skinner is leading the team in all five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks).
Led by Skinner, the Riverhawks own the best offense in 4A, but this isn’t just an offensive showcase. Ridgeline also specializes in shutting teams down with the second-best defense in the class. All put together the Riverhawks have by far the best point differential in 4A Utah girls basketball.
Sky View
Region Record: 4-1 (12-4 Overall)
RPI Rank: 2nd
Points Per Game: 51.9 (4th in 4A)
Points Allowed Per Game: 44.1 (3rd in 4A)
Stat Leaders
- Points – Hannah Radford (15.4)
- Rebounds – Melanie Hiatt (7.4)
- Assists – Addey Merrill (3.1)
Upcoming Region 11 Game of the Week appearances
- February 16 at Mountain Crest
Sky View is once again a great team in a region with a near perfect team. Were it not for Ridgeline the Bobcats would be on the inside track for the region crown.
The Bobcats don’t have a singular star that consistently puts up gobs of points, but rather a crew of consistently good players. Hannah Radford leads the way in points at 15.4 per game with Melanie Hiatt in the post (7.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game) and Addey Merrill as a distributor. Unfortunately, this Big 3 took a hit with Melanie Hiatt suffering an injury in a crucial matchup with Ridgeline and has not played since.
A good combination of scoring (fourth in 4A) and defense (third in 4A) will have the Bobcats threatening to go deep in the playoffs.
Green Canyon
Region Record: 3-2 (11-4 Overall)
RPI Rank: 3rd
Points Per Game: 63.0 (2nd in 4A)
Points Allowed Per Game: 46.1 (5th in 4A)
Stat Leaders
- Points – Maren McKenna (15.7)
- Rebounds – Maren McKenna (9.4)
- Assists – Cambree Tensmeyer (3.6)
Upcoming Region 11 Game of the Week appearances
The Wolves are a team that’s currently on the outside of region title contention but has the talent to get back in that conversation. Senior guard Maren McKenna is one of the best players in the region, nearly averaging a double-double while also being an occasional triple-double threat. Alongside McKenna is Cambree Tensmeyer who leads the team in assists (3.6 per game) and is second in scoring (13.8). Together McKenna and Tensmeyer form arguably the best backcourt in 4A.
Green Canyon has one of the best ball-movement offenses in 4A, averaging 15 assists on 24 made field goals per game. Three different players on the team are averaging north of three assists per game (McKenna, Tensmeyer and Stella Anhder). This great teamwork has given the Wolves the second-best offense in 4A, only slightly behind the star-driven Riverhawks. Defensively, GC isn’t as elite as some of the other top teams (*only* fifth in 4A) but it’s still solid against most teams.
Mountain Crest
Region Record: 2-3 (8-9 Overall)
RPI Rank: 6th
Points Per Game: 44.8 (8th in 4A)
Points Allowed Per Game: 46.4 (6th in 4A)
Stat Leaders:
- Points – Kali Jones (10.9)
- Rebounds – Kali Jones (10.0)
- Assists – Lily Smith (3.4)
Upcoming Region 11 Game of the Week appearances
The Mustangs are a team firmly in the middle of the pack. They have a solid, though not elite, defense but a struggling offense. Leading scorer and nightly double-double threat Kali Jones has been good in scoring (10.9 per game) but not someone capable of leading a top-tier offense. Sophomore guard Lily Smith has taken a big jump from a year ago to average 9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
This year the Mustangs have proven to be decent team, but one not quite at the level of teams above them. But with its top five statistical contributors set to return next year it’s very possible we’re seeing a prelude to a great team a year from now.
Bear River
Region Record: 1-4 (8-7 Overall)
RPI Rank: 7th
Points Per Game: 47.7 (5th in 4A)
Points Allowed Per Game: 47.5 (7th in 4A)
Stat Leaders
- Points – Gracie Riley (15.7)
- Rebounds – Gracie Riley (10.1)
- Assists – Jenna LaCroix (3.7)
Upcoming Region 11 Game of the Week appearances
Entering region play the Bears looked like a team that could be an upstart in the standings with a solid 7-3 overall record. After one round of games, though, Bear River has struggled to deliver on that potential. A solid defense that consistently allowed fewer than 40 points has run headlong into a region full of dominant offense and it’s taken its toll on Bear River’s record.
Despite the team’s struggles, Gracie Riley has remained the region’s best double-double machine, averaging 15.7 points and leading the region in rebounds at 10.1. Alongside Riley leading the region in rebounds (and being second in scoring), Jenna LaCroix is leading Region 11 in assists per game.
Time will tell if the Bears can rebound from a rough first leg of region play and rise a little bit in the standings.
Logan
Region Record: 0-5 (1-16 Overall)
RPI Rank: 13th
Points Per Game: 25.1 (13th in 4A)
Points Allowed Per Game: 54.6 (13th in 4A)
Stat Leaders
- Points – Two tied (5.5)
- Rebounds – Marisol Contreras (3.3)
- Assists – Onyx Kennington (0.9)
Some years just don’t go the way you want them to and the once-mighty Grizzlies – who are just two years removed from winning Region 11 – are going through a program slump. Logan does have a lot of underclassmen so a year of development can go a long way in upping next year’s record. But there’s fight in this team so don’t write them off with a winless region record just yet.