This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

When the Judge Memorial Catholic High School boys' basketball team visited Highland on Dec. 10, the pep squad provided halftime entertainment using crowd participation.

Two spectators from the Highland student section competed in tic-tac-toe, shooting baskets at opposite hoops to earn plays on a giant, mid-court tic-tac-toe board. For the second round, a girl from the Judge student section pleaded to play, and eventually was allowed.

"Hey, Judge girl. Come back down here. You can play," said an announcement over the PA system.

She made five straight baskets, easily winning the game of tic-tac-toe, and returned to the Judge student section. Her classmates chanted, "She's a freshman!"

Meet "Judge girl," freshman Kaile Quinn.

She leads the Judge girls' team in scoring with more than 11 points per game as the Bulldogs have raced to a 7-2 record. At first, she wasn't sure of her place on the team, but she quickly worked her way into the starting five.

"At first, when I was starting I was really nervous," Quinn said. "Getting used to more games, it's now just another game because the seniors don't treat me like a freshman at all."

Quinn believes she works well on the team and has earned her place on the floor by taking on more responsibility when it presents itself.

"She's really stepped it up," teammate and senior Ellen Sliwinski said. "She brings most of the energy to the team. We really rely on her."

Sliwinski said there was frustration from some players early in the season who expected more playing time and saw it taken by Quinn and fellow freshman Sadie Sewell. But that has changed as they have produced.

"I just think they look at me as a ballplayer," Quinn said of her older teammates.

Coach Matt Mapstone, in his first year after seven years at Park City and a one-year break, has kept very connected to Judge since he graduated from the school.

His daughter is a freshman, so Mapstone watched this class play basketball since the third grade.

When former coach Jeremy Chatterton stepped away from the program, Mapstone didn't hesitate to offer himself as a candidate. Now, having Quinn and her fellow freshmen breathe new talent into the program, Mapstone is excited about his new job.

"I knew Kaile would be here as a freshman and I knew what to expect from her," Mapstone said. "We've got four freshmen up through the JV level and they're all just as talented as a freshman as I've ever seen, all of them." —

A closer look

• The Judge girls' basketball team is led in scoring by freshman Kaile Quinn at more than 11 points per game.

• Quinn started the season finding her spot on the team but has embraced her role as a pivotal piece to Judge's success.

• Quinn is part of a talented freshman class that has three players on the varsity roster and another on the junior varsity roster.