
Springville will come back to defend its 4A crown and perfect record.
Photo by Dave Argyle
MaxPreps 2013-14 Utah Girls Basketball Preseason Fab 5 presented by the Army National Guard
Click here to see the girls basketball preseason Fab 5 from every state
1. Springville2012-13 finish: 24-0, won Class 4A Championship
Head coach: Camie Oakey
No
girls basketball team in Utah has been more dominant during this decade
than Springville. The Red Devils notched their second perfect season in
four years and third state title in four years a season ago. Oakey, a
former University of Utah star, takes the reins from longtime coach
Nancy Warner. She has plenty of talent to make another title run,
starting with 5-foot-2 senior point guard
Savannah Park (13.2 ppg) and
6-3 senior center
Brooke Wheeler (8.6 ppg).
2. Brighton (Salt Lake City)2012-13 finish: 15-6, lost in Class 5A first round
Head coach: Jim Gresh
The
Bengals won the Region 3 title a year ago and could be a favorite to
repeat with many of their top players back. Senior
Maddy Chin
(15.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and 5-10 junior
Lindsey Johnson (11.7 ppg) were
the top two scorers for Brighton in 2012-13 and make a backcourt tandem
that's tough for any team to defend. Six-foot junior
Alyssa Hirschi (6.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and 5-11 junior
McCall Christensen (5.6
ppg) also return to give the Bengals a boost in the frontcourt.
3. Bingham (South Jordan)2012-13 finish: 23-1, lost in Class 5A semifinals
Head coach: Charron Mason
A
new chapter will begin for the Miners this season. Mason, a former
three-sport athlete for the Miners, will take the place of longtime
coach Rand Rasmussen, who retired after last season. Rasmussen went
465-97 and won four state titles in 24 seasons. Mason returns only one
player, 5-foot-11 senior
Sheradyn Parker (6 ppg), who saw significant
minutes, but has plenty of young talent to bring up from the JV ranks.
4. Bonneville (Washington Terrace)2012-13 finish: 23-1, lost to Springville in Class 4A semifinals
Head coach: Mike Russell
It's
not impossible to think the Lakers could be on a collision course with
Springville in the Class 4A tournament again after the Red Devils ended
their perfect season. Bonneville returns two of its top three scorers
from a year ago: 6-3 senior
Kayla Eilertson (11.4 ppg) and 5-9
senior
Cortney Porter (10.9 ppg). They should be favored to win a
Region 5 title once again.
5. Viewmont (Bountiful)2012-13 finish: 19-3, lost in Class 5A first round
Head coach: Clint Straatman
The
Vikings have tons of momentum after winning their first region title
since 1999 a season ago. Viewmont was tough to beat last season and the
story should be the same in 2013-14 since the team's top two players,
5-10 senior
Caitlyn Larsen (17.8 ppg) and 5-foot-9 junior
Katie Toole (15.4 ppg) are back for more. Larsen and Toole were team leaders
in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
John
Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps.com. He is a former
prep sports reporter with the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News.
You can contact him at john_coon@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter at
@johncoonsports.