Senior Talaunee Croasmun led the Grand County Lady Red Devils with 20 points as the girls played hard, but fell prey to Maesar Prep senior Bella Harrington’s 32 points and 22 rebounds as the Lions defeated the Lady Red Devils 64-42 on Saturday, Jan. 9, in Moab.
Harrington got off to a fast start, scoring 9 points and blocking two Grand shots in the first quarter as the Lions surged out to a 16-11 lead. Harrington and the Lions had the Lady Red Devils in early foul trouble that continued to plague Grand throughout the game. Grand committed its seventh foul 11 seconds into the second quarter, guaranteeing at least one free throw for every foul the rest of the half. The Lions went on an 11-2 run early in the quarter and led by as many as 13 points before Grand closed the half on a 9-0 run, including a buzzer-beating putback by freshman Veda Gritts, to trail 29-25 at the break.
The Lady Red Devils found themselves in foul trouble again in the second half, committing eight fouls in the third quarter alone, compared to just one called on the Lions. Gritts picked up her fifth foul with 1.4 seconds remaining in the frame, finishing the game with 5 points. The Lions took advantage of the foul trouble to extend their lead to 44-31. Harrington matched Gritts’ buzzer-beater with one of her own to close the quarter.
The Lions, who shot well the entire game, continued their hot shooting in the fourth quarter, while the Lady Red Devils’ shooting went cold. The foul disparity also continued as Croasmun and fellow seniors Symony Call and Madi Jones all finished with at least four fouls. Croasmun fouled out late in the fourth quarter. The Lions, on the other hand, were only called for six fouls the entire second half, only one of which put the Lady Red Devils on the free throw line as Call missed a pair of free throws on a shooting foul with 39 seconds left in the game for Grand’s only free throws of the second half.
Call finished with 9 points for the Lady Red Devils. Jones and Sophomore Tyra Robertson each scored 4 points to round out Grand’s scoring. For the Lions, Gracie Sorenson scored 17 points to complement Harrington’s 32.
The Lady Red Devils also lost to Emery on Tuesday, Jan. 12, by a score of 80-36. They’re scheduled to play at Manti on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., at Gunnison on Saturday, Jan. 16, at 4:30 p.m., and at San Juan on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. They return home to play North Sevier on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m.
Early foul trouble plagues Grand throughout game
When: Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m.
Where: Grand County High School, 608 S. 400 East
