Lady Dinos sink Summit Academy in state opener

    HEBER CITY – The Carbon Lady Dinos defeated the Summit Academy Bears 52-36 on Friday night at Wasatch High School.
    Friday’s win advances Carbon to the 3A State quarterfinals next week in St. George.
    It also extends their current win streak to eight straight wins.
    “It was a great win for us, we had to fight for it for sure because anything can happen in the playoffs. I was really proud of our girls and that team made us play, it was a good game for us,” said Carbon Head Coach Ted Bianco.
     Against the Bears the Lady Dinos stayed in control for most of the first quarter leading 16-9 at the end of the period.
    In the second quarter, Carbon allowed the bears to go on a 7-0 run to close out the first half in the final two minutes.
    After halftime, the Lady Dinos got their offense going from the three-point line to separate themselves from the Bears.
     Sophomore’s Abbie Saccomanno and Jordan Bianco each hit two three pointers in a matter of few minutes to help outscore the Bears 19-8 in the third quarter.
    After the game Bianco said that the three point shooting was a huge part of overcoming Summit Academy’s defensive strategy and keeping the lead safe.
    “They were trying to take everything away from inside, they were trying to take Jodi and Kelsey completely out of the game. Those three point shots opened up for us and then we got a couple of drives to the basket and made some layups,” said
    Saccomanno would go on to be the leading scorer for the Lady Dinos, finishing with 16 points.
    During the fourth quarter the Lady Dinos would continue to defend Summit Academy to only 7 points to help close out the win.
    A big part of the win according to Coach Bianco was shutting down the Bear’s Micah Gustafson in the paint and rebounding.
    “She was our main concern and I felt good about how our kids handled her. I thought as a team we did a great job rebounding,” said Coach Bianco.
    The Lady Dinos out-rebounded the Bears 39-32 and forced 15 turnovers.
    Carbon senior forward Kelsey Sorenson had a huge night for her team. She finished the night with 14 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 3 steals.
    Up next for Carbon is a battle against rival Emery in the 3A State Quarterfinals on Thursday at 4:10 p.m. at Dixie State University.
    The Lady Dinos haven’t played Emery in two years and are looking to defeat their rival to advance to their fourth straight appearance in the state playoffs semifinal round.
    “We have our hands full next week against Emery and we are going to have to show up and play a great game. Anything is possible and our kids will be ready,” said Bianco.