Pleasant Grove's boys and girls teams both took steps toward locking down the second seeds in District 15-4A with convincing wins over Atlanta Friday night at Hawk Gym.
Girls
This one belonged to the triplets.
Playing their final game in Hawk Gym, seniors Carley Barrett, Faith Lipham and Brette Wacha all hit double figures as PG (20-11, 7-2) shoved Atlanta (20-7, 5-4) out of contention for second place
The Lady Hawks assured themselves at least a tie for the District 15-4A second seed. The Hawks will try nail down second when they travel to North Lamar Tuesday.
PG's girls came out fast, dominating the boards as they rolled to a 32-14 halftime advantage. PG out rebounded the Lady Rabbits 22-7 in the first half.
While Atlanta struggled to find the bucket in the first quarter, the Hawks got their fast break going as Barrett, Lipham and Wacha each had a pair of buckets in the first quarter.
In the second, Lipham got going from outside the arc, taking kick-out passes from Wacha, then Barrett to break the game open.
Wacha finished with 16 points, Lipham 15 and Barrett 11. Wacha and sophomore Madeline Haak each pulled down a dozen rebounds.
"What a great game. Everything worked out perfectly," PG coach Jason Boston said. "We were able to pull out the seniors one at a time."
"It's just crazy," Wacha said of playing her final game in Hawk Gym. "It's been great playing at PG. I wouldn't want to play anywhere else."
Barrett just shook her head.
"The days just flew by," she said.
Stonni Farmer led the Rabbs with 13 points.
Atlanta 8 6 8 8 - 30
Pleasant Grove 16 16 15 9 - 56
A (30): Farmer 3 6-8 13, Sheppard 4 0-2 8, Ka. Kelly 1 0-0 2, S. Smith 0 1-2 1, 2 0-2 4, 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 11 7-14 30.
PG (56): Barrett 4 2-2 11, Pickleman 2 0-0 4, Lipham 6 0-0 15, Morris 3 0-0 6, Wacha 4 6-6 16, Haak 3 0-0 6. TOTALS 22 8-8 56.
3-point goals: A-Farmer; PG-Lipham 3, Wacha 2, Barrett. Team fouls: Atlanta 10, Pleasant Grove 10.
Boys
Juniors Cameron Edwards and Connor Ouellette each dropped in eight points in the second quarter to spur a 14-2 run, followed by an 8-0 spurt in the final minute before halftime to put the game out of reach early.
Up 38-16 at the half, the Hawks poured it on some more in the third quarter to extend their lead to 31 points before putting it on cruise control.
Edwards led all scorers with 17, followed closely by Ouellette with 16. Sophomore Aaron Harmon chipped in 12 for the Hawks, who improved to 21-6, 6-1 in district.
Atlanta (11-16, 1-6) did not have anyone who reached double figures. Trin Taylor and A.J. McGary scored seven each to lead the Rabbs.
"This was a solid effort," PG coach Billy Brewer said. "We controlled the boards, moved the ball down court, and set up our offense all night.
"It just shows that we just have to come out and play our game," he said. "The guys did a good job. I'm proud of them."
Pleasant Grove's junior varsity boys rallied from 10-point halftime deficit to top Atlanta, 54-45.
Luke Bunel led the Hawks with 17 points, hitting five three-pointers, four of those in the third quarter.
Atlanta 7 9 8 16 - 39
Pleasant Grove 14 24 19 14 - 71
A (39): Taylor 3 1-2 7, Holland 1 0-0 3, Hamilton 2 0-0 5, Childress 2 0-0 4, McGary 2 1-2 7, Nuckels 2 1-2 5, Robinson 2 1-4 5, King 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 16 4-10 39.
PG (71): Edwards 8 1-1 17, A. Harmon 5 1-1 12, Ouellette 7 0-2 16, Benson 4 0-0 8, Cole 2 0-0 6, Bright 3 1-4 7, Kirk 1 1-1 3. TOTALS 30 3-8 71.
3-point goals: A-McGary 2, Taylor, Holland, King; PG-Ouellete 2, Cole 2, A. Harmon. Team fouls: Atlanta 13, Pleasant Grove 9. Fouled out: Pace.