The Utah High School Activities Association 4A Girls State Basketball Tournament will take place in Cedar City, in the America First Event Center. The girl’s tournament will span from Thursday, Feb. 20 to Feb. 22. as all eyes will be on Emilee Skinner and the Redhawks as they strive to finish the season undefeated.
The Blue Devil
Skinner has been dominant her entire high school basketball career. Skinner, a five-star commit to Duke University has scored 2,261 points, tallied 758 rebounds, and totaled 360 steals for Ridgeline. Skinner has averaged 26.6 points per game, 10.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 3.8 steals and 1.5 blocks in her senior season.
She has also added three triple-doubles in her career. Skinner has totaled some impressive stat lines this year:
— 17 pts, 20 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl, 3 blk against Perry, Arizona on Dec. 14
— 37 pts, 13 reb, 5 stl, 4 blk against Osbourn Park, Virginia on Dec. 21
— 34 pts, 12 reb, 8 stl vs Sky View on 1/16
— 24 pts, 20 reb, 8 ast, 5 “stocks” vs Judge Memorial on Jan. 20
— 41 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl vs Mountain Crest on Feb. 6
— 21 pts, 13 reb, 10 ast, 7 stl vs Uintah on Feb. 14
Skinner is ranked the No. 7 best recruit in the 2025 class by ESPN, and 10th by 247Sports. She is considered a five-star by both.
In addition to her basketball success, Skinner tallied seven goals and three assists for Ridgeline’s soccer team during her sophomore season, leading to a 4A First-Team selection.
The Riverhawks
The Ridgeline girls basketball team is ranked No. 18 in the nation according to MaxPreps. They sit at 25-0 with marquee wins over the No. 1 team in Arizona Millennium High, La Jolla Country Day, Copper Hills and Westlake.
Skinner is the headline for this Riverhawks squad, but they have multiple complimenting pieces. The first being Abby Munford. The 6’2” sophomore forward averages exactly 10 points and 10 rebounds a night, and adds a block and a steal per game. Senior guard Makaydi Jenks adds 7.4 ppg, 5.8 apg and 2.7 spg. The Riverhawks stick with a rotation of about 6-7 girls.
Ridgeline began the tournament with a win over Uintah High, outscoring the Utes 44-5 in the first half, and won 72-27. They will continue their tournament run, with their first game at SUU against Cedar High on Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Snow Canyon
The No. 2 team in the state, Snow Canyon High has gone undefeated thus far, with a record of 24-0. Although they are not nationally ranked, the Warriors have thrashed their opponents. They have an average margin of victory of 29.2 points a game.
The Warriors are led by Nebraska University commit Olivia Hamlin. The No. 59 player in the class according to Prospects Nation, The 5’9” senior guard leads the state in scoring with 29.2 ppg, and is first in steals with an absurd 5.7 per game.
In her first game of the year, against Highland, Hamlin dropped 37 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and 16 steals. She has averaged at least 20 ppg in all four years of high school.
Another team to look out for is the Payson Lions. They have a record of 20-2 and are ranked No. 8 in Utah, third in 4A. The Lions are led by a two-headed monster, senior Quincy Mathews and junior Emmie Hales. Mathews averages 14.1 ppg, seven rpg, 2.3 apg and two spg. Mathews counterpart, Hales, tallies 13.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.6 spg and 2.7 bpg.
The Schedule
The quarterfinals will be on Feb. 20 and will include all four top seeds.
Quarterfinals Feb. 20:
Game 28 – No. 3 Payson vs No. 6 Sky View at 4:10 p.m.
Game 27 – No. 2 Snow Canyon vs No. 10 Mountain Crest at 5:50 p.m.
Game 26 – No. 1 Ridgeline vs No. 8 Cedar at 7:30 p.m.
Game 25 – No. 4 Provo vs No. 12 Dixie at 9:10 p.m.
Semifinals Feb. 21:
Game 29 – Winner game 25 vs Winner game 26 at 2:30 p.m.
G30 – Winner game 27 vs Winner game 28 at 4:10 p.m.
Final Feb. 22:
Winner of game 29 vs winner of game 30 at 3 p.m.
All games will take place in the America First Event Center on the campus of Southern Utah University and can find the official bracket online at UHSAA.org
Author: Brig Pyfer
Photographer: Sports Illustarted, MaxPreps, On3
Editor: Jack Paul
