Hillcrest girls basketball on the rebound
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The Hillcrest High girls basketball team is playing in the newly aligned Region 7 this season and currently holds a 4-4 record.
Hillcrest High girls basketball coach Dave Richardson has a lot more enthusiasm than most coaches would in his position. He is returning from a 3-18 season in 2010 after losing his leading scorer from that squad to graduation.
“We focused a lot on conditioning over the summer,” said Richardson, who is in his fourth year with the Huskies. “And we are in better shape than ever before.”
Richardson still requires his team to run two miles before every practice. “We used to get blown away by the third quarter in games,” he said. “This time if we do, it will not be because of our conditioning.”
Through the first eight games of the season, that emphasis has translated into more wins than all of last season -- four -- just before region play beginning Jan. 10. The Huskies lost its first three games -- in overtime to Copper Hills (50-44) on Dec. 2, to Hunter (55-45) on Dec. 7 and to Salem Hills (60-26) on Dec. 9 -- before rebounding for its first win against Park City (61-44) on Dec. 12. Hillcrest suffered a loss to Cottonwood (42-36) on Dec. 16 and then won three straight against Highland (70-40) on Dec. 20, Ogden (53-45) on Dec. 28 and Jordan (55-45) on Dec. 29. The team lost to Cyprus (63-32) on Jan. 3 to bring its current record to 4-5.
Another reason for Richardson’s optimism is the return of five seniors who are expected to lead the team on and off the court. Whitney Lott tops the team in scoring with more than 12 points a game while Ashley Jewell averages eight points a game. The two seniors are also the team’s leading three-point shooters with Amber Christensen, KayLee Roemmich and Brittney Kunzler rounding out the senior class for the Huskies.
“There’s a difference in excitement with this group,” Richardson said. “They’re all pretty good shooters and I am confident in their abilities, which will allow them to see significant playing time.”
Junior Whitney Nemelka, the team’s second leading scorer, averaging 11 points a game, is also contributing heavily as the Huskies compete in its third newly-aligned region in the past four years. This year, Hillcrest plays in Region 7 against Westlake, Skyline, Olympus, Murray and Herriman.
Others on the squad are Brittany Dalgliesh, Kaitlin Hyte, Kesaia Leatutufu, Magen Lloyd, McVey Mrysa, Robyn Oliphant, Erin Openshaw and Madison Shaw.
