San Juan girls battle hard, suffer two losses at 2A state tournament

The San Juan High School girls basketball team knew they had one of the biggest tests of the season in store when they traveled to Orem to take on #1 Kanab in the 2A State Quarterfinals on Monday, February 23.
The Lady Cowboys had dominated 2A basketball this season, losing only two games all year and entering the tournament as the odds-on favorites to win the championship.
But the Lady Broncos were excited to have earned a birth in the quarterfinals for the first time in six seasons and were ready for the challenge against Kanab.
The girls played well, giving their all, but the Lady Cowboys came out strong to outscore San Juan 17-6 in the first quarter. They continued to pour it on in the second and held a 27-11 lead at halftime.
The Lady Broncos continued to battle in the third quarter, but Kanab was able to stretch their lead to 39-20. San Juan outscored the Lady Cowboys in the fourth quarter 14-6, ultimately suffering a 45-34 loss.
Despite the result the Lady Broncos have every reason to hold their heads high after a valiant effort. Kanab did go on to dominate all of their opponents at Utah Valley University to win the state championship convincingly.
Madi Adams led scoring for San Juan in the quarterfinal game with 15 points, including three three-point baskets. She also had one rebound and one blocked shot against Kanab.
Khimya Fullwood scored six points with five rebounds and one assist in the loss. Brooklyn Lameman poured in five points with a three-pointer, three rebounds, and four steals.
Kaidence Mitchell scored four points and assisted on two Lady Bronco buckets. Evony Sampson had two points, three rebounds, and a block. Daveigh Mitchell scored two points with a rebound and two assists.
Though they didn’t score, freshmen Ella Stearns and Taverie Johnson both contributed in the game. Stearns pulled down three rebounds and had two steals. Johnson had a rebound and three steals.
The loss meant that San Juan would face Duchesne in the fifth place semifinals on Tuesday, March 24. The Lady Eagles were the fifth-seeded team entering the tournament and had suffered a quarterfinal loss to #4 North Summit.
It’s always tough to bounce back from a loss on day one of the tournament and that proved to be the case for San Juan in their second game of the week.
The Lady Broncos fell behind early as Duchesne opened a 10-6 lead in the first quarter. The deficit stretched to nine points at halftime with the score favoring the Lady Eagles 19-10.
San Juan came out with a purpose in the third quarter looking to keep their season alive. They outscored Duchesne 12-11 in the frame to trail by just eight points heading into the fourth quarter.
It was an exciting quarter with the teams combining to score 28 points. Unfortunately for the Lady Broncos Duchesne was able to keep pace to win the quarter 15-13 and the game 45-35.
Khimya Fullwood led San Juan scoring with an 11-point effort, including a three-point basket. She also led the team with nine rebounds and collected one assist, one steal, and one block.
Kaidence Mitchell poured in seven points for the Lady Broncos with four boards, one assist, and two steals. Evony Sampson had a great game off the bench, scoring six points with four rebounds, one assist, and two steals.
Brooklyn Lameman tallied five points in the game with a three-pointer, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Daveigh Mitchell scored four points with two rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Taverie Johnson got on the scoresheet with two points, two rebounds, and  three steals. Ella Stearns and Madi Adams both pulled down two boards apiece and Adams also had an assist.
The Lady Broncos finish the season with a 12-12 record, their best season since they posted an identical record in 2019-20.
Surely they would have liked a better result in Orem, but earning a trip to play at UVU was a big accomplishment for the team and most definitely a stepping stone as the program continues to grow and improve.
San Juan Head Coach Laura Stearns discussed that subject and more as she expressed some postseason thoughts with the San Juan Record.
“Although our season didn’t end how we wanted, the San Juan girls had a great season,” she stated. It had been six years since we had made a state appearance, so that in itself was a great accomplishment for us.
“Madi Adams had a standout game offensively with 15 points against Kanab. The team struggled offensively to get things going, but did well defensively against Kanab and Duchesne.
“This year Kaidence Mitchell really stepped us this year by leading out on the court, along with Khimya Fullwood. Both girls were top contributors offensively and defensively.
“We had multiple underclassmen that played pivotal parts in winning games. Freshman Brooklyn Lameman was our top outside shooter this year and became one of our starters about midway through the year.
“She was an excellent addition to the team and we are glad we have her for three more years.
“Overall it was a great year of growth and with the amount of returning starters and subs we are looking forward to progressing as a team and competing even more next year.”
Indeed, Fullwood and Mitchell led the team offensively this season with 395 and 223 points respectively. Fullwood averaged an impressive 16.5 points per game and Mitchell scored 10.6.
Brooklyn Lameman tallied 207 points on the year, an average of 8.6 per game. Ella Stearns was next in line for San Juan with 98 points. Daveigh Mitchell scored 86 and Madi Adams had 79.
The Lady Broncos missed the services of Syndell Atcitty for the final five games of the season as she suffered an injury, but she still scored 64 points on the season.
Evony Sampson had 50 points on the year, Taverie Johnson 22, Jayden Benally nine, Ava Bayles five, Ellie Beck two, Harmony Oshley two, and Lavanna Benn one.
As Coach Stearns said, Brooklyn Lameman led the team far and away in three-point shooting with 37 on the season. Daveigh Mitchell and Madi Adams both collected 14 threes on the year and Ella Stearns had eight.
Fullwood led with 190 rebounds and 14 blocked shots. Atcitty had a team-high 52 assists and Lameman led with 45 steals.
The team bids farewell to only two graduating seniors, Kaidence Mitchell and Madi Adams. There are numerous young players who are looking to step up in 2026-27 and continue growing San Juan girls basketball.