1A GIRLS: Alyssa Hanks carries Round Mountain over Eureka in double overtime

Round Mountain was being outplayed and dominated by Eureka in the first half of Friday’s Class 1A girls basketball state semifinal, trailing by as many as 11 midway through the second quarter.

And junior center Alyssa Hanks had seen enough.

Hanks scored 33 of her game-high 34 points after halftime to lead Round Mountain to a 74-70 double-overtime win over the Vandals at Durango. The Knights (16-7) will face Owyhee (19-5) in the championship game at 6:20 p.m. Saturday at Cox Pavilion.

“We didn’t want to go home, we worked really hard to get where we were, so we didn’t want to throw it away,” said Hanks, who added 17 rebounds and three steals. “Being in the state tournament can be nerve-wracking, so I was a little tense in the first half. We woke up a little at halftime, got a pep talk and came and did what we had to get done in the second half.”

Hannah Swafford added 17 points and five rebounds, and Ariana Marich chipped in 10 points for Round Mountain, which trailed 24-16 at the half.

Trailing 69-67 early in the second overtime, the Knights tightened their defense and outscored Eureka 7-1 down the stretch to secure the win.

After shooting just 6-for-22 from the field in the first half, Round Mountain used a 17-7 run to swipe momentum from the Vandals, who made just four field goals in the third quarter.

Eureka battled back to take a three-point lead with 1:47 left in regulation, when Katie Damele hit two free throws, but Hanks hit a 3-pointer with 1:32 left and then drained two free throws with 43 seconds left to give Round Mountain a 57-55 lead. Damele forced overtime by tying the game at 57 with 16 seconds left.

Cody Gibbs led Eureka with 26 points, 10 steals and three rebounds. Damele had 18 points, and Morgan Thomas scored 11 points for the Vandals.

Hanks’ 34 points were the third-most in a Class 1A state tournament game. The teams combined for the most points ever in a girls 1A state tournament game.

Owyhee 78, Pahranagat Valley 59 — Kaylani Smartt led all scorers with 22 points as Owyhee built a double-figure lead early and cruised to the win over the Panthers in the second semifinal.

Maycee Cota added 20 points, and Kaira Egan scored 17 for Owyhee which led 19-9 after one quarter and 43-25 at the half.

Alyson Egbert led Pahranagat Valley (16-9) with 16 points, and teammate Karley Whipple scored 13.