Bulldogs basketball goes undefeated

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Judge Memorial Catholic High School girls basketball team swept the boards in 2022, finishing the season 26-0.

Their success was the culmination of several years of hard work and dedication on the part of the players, coach Josh Pike said. The team grew steadily over the last few years; last year they began to see consistent wins and high point averages, and that carried over into this year, he said.

Going undefeated in the regular season, they took the region title, then went on to state play. After a first-round bye, they defeated Juan Diego 70-33. In the quarterfinals on Feb. 24 at Weber State, they beat Carbon 57-33.

Moving to the semi-finals, they left Morgan behind, 63-54.

The Feb. 26 state championship game at Weber State against Richfield started with a slow first half, which Pike attributed to jitters. Then the team settled down, “and from there we never realty looked back,” he said. “We finally settled in, our nerves went away, and we played ball,” emerging victorious, 43-37.

“After the season was over, our average was mid-70s per game,” Pike said. “As far as Judge goes, I don’t think that has happened in the last 20 years that I know of. This group of kids has put Judge girls basketball back on the map.”

The players on the team have had the goal of putting an imprint on the program, Pike said, and “this year’s seniors have definitely done that.”

Senior Teya Sidberry was ranked first in state in scoring, with a Point Per Game of 33.7. On Feb. 3, when Sidberry scored 42 points in a game against Providence Hall, she broke both the boys and girls Utah High School records for career points.

Sidberry, the second-highest scorer in the nation, will play for the University of Utah this fall.

“Teya, to me, is like a once-in-a-lifetime athlete,” Pike said. “Not a lot of coaches get the opportunity to coach somebody like that.”

Along with her prowess on the basketball court, Sidberry carries a 4.5 weighted GPA and serves on the Judge student council.

“She is an incredible kid,” Pike said. “She really is genuinely kind and caring toward everybody. Even on the basketball court, she really tries to not only carry everybody but include everybody.”

Sidberry always put the team and the program ahead of her own goals, Pike said. “I’m very, very pleased that not only did we get what we wanted in the program, but she got what she wanted as an individual because she puts so much time and effort into it.”

All the team’s seniors were strong contributors to the successful season, Pike said.

Marika Collins was the team’s second-leading scorer, while Maya Renteria “did a little bit of everything,” he said.

“Adior Juang played amazing and protected our players very well during the championship game,” Pike said. “She was our player of the game.”

Junior Klowie Pike was the second leading rebounder and led the team in assists.