By Joey Hislop

| Special to The Tribune

The St. Joseph Jayhawks will play in their first state title game after knocking off Piute 63-41 Friday in the semifinals of the 1A girls’ basketball tournament at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield.

Katie Berry was one of four Jayhawks to score in double figures, with 21, including three 3-pointers. She was joined by teammates Katie Panushka (12 points), Sam Bischoff (10) and Elizabeth Tomon (10). Piute was led by Kierra Gleave (16) and Whitney Westwood (11).

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Rich 46, Wayne 33 • The Rich Rebels will play for all the marbles once again after surviving their biggest scare of the tournament so far.

Wayne closed to within five at the end of the third quarter and had a chance to make it a one-score ballgame early in the fourth, but the Rich defense toughened up enough to send Wayne to a third-place matchup with Piute. Rich head coach Scott Ferguson was pleased with his team’s play, but said there’s still one more mountain to climb.

"It’s always good [to advance to the championship]," Ferguson said. "... It’s something that the girls worked for from November ‘til now. We’re not quite where we want to be yet, but we’re almost there.

"They were hurting us from the high post, and we wanted to try and keep the ball out of there. ... We were confident we could disrupt them a little bit in there. ... We talked [at halftime] about not letting them get second shots and trying to do a better job rebounding. I thought we did that in the second half."

Rich was led by go-to girl Courtney Lamborn (10 points) and Tristin Bowers (10). With Wayne clamping down on Lamborn throughout the game, the Rebels needed Bowers to step up.

"People know about [Lamborn]. She draws a lot of attention, and because of that it brings up other people," Ferguson said. "... Tristin Bowers struggled a little bit, but came uphuge in the fourth quarter."

Saturday’s matchup with St. Joseph is slated for 5 p.m., while Wayne will take on Piute prior in the earlier third place game, set for 3 p.m.

Panguitch 41, Manila 34 • After leading in the first half, the Panguitch Bobcats had to come from behind to eliminate the Manila Mustangs.

Down one point 27-26) after three quarters, the Bobcats outscored the Mustangs 15-7 in the final frame, earning a shot at fifth place.

The Bobcats were led by Carly Holman, who had 18. She was the only player to score in double figures in the contest.

Green River 62, Layton Christian 43 • Win or lose, the Green River Pirates’ season will end the way it began — with a matchup against Pangiutch. Green River earned a rematch with the Bobcats by topping the Layton Christian Eagles.

The Pirates jumped ahead in the first quarter, carrying the momentum into the half, up 34-18. Layton Christian couldn’t bridge the gap in what was a better second half for the Eagles.

Michaela Hughes was one bucket away from tying her career high, putting up 26 points for the Pirates. Teammate Feleisha Antillon had 12 on four treys. The top scorers for the Eagles were Shayla Simpson (15 points, including two 3-pointers) and Alissa Atisme (14).