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TAYLORSVILLE — Sky View's quarterfinal matchup was supposed to be a first-rate billing, with the reigning champions in Class 4A and 5A facing off in the Bobcats' matchup with Brighton.
No big deal.
Kaylee Carlsen totaled 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals to help Sky View advance to the semifinals of its first-ever 5A girls basketball state tournament with a 78-42 rout of the Bengals on Thursday at Salt Lake Community College.
"I knew we could do that," Carlsen said, "but I'm glad that our team came to play in this tournament.
"It's a chance for us to show that we can compete with these 5A teams, and not just the 4A teams."
Jamie Nelson led the Bobcats (21-2) with 21 points, and added four rebounds and two steals in the thumping.
Sky View was motivated by its recent promotion to Class 5A, just one season after finishing an undefeated season with the 4A state title. The two teams met Nov. 22 in the state's Hall of Fame game, when Sky View held on for a 53-50 win.
The Bobcats have won 20 of the 22 games that followed, with their only losses coming at Morgan in the second game of the year and at Cache Valley rival Logan on Dec. 22. Sky View's win streak includes 14 games in a row, including a perfect 12-0 sweep of Region 1.
The defending 5A champion Bengals posed a new challenge from a deep Region 3, but fell behind 25-4 after one quarter and never seriously threatened again.
"It's intimidating; we did well in 4A, and we were comfortable," first-year head coach Vanessa Hall said. "Then they bumped us up, and everyone is a little bit taller and a little bit faster and more athletic. But these girls worked hard day-in and day-out, and we realized we could play 5A schools.
Sky View 78, Brighton 42
Brighton 4 13 10 15 — 42 Sky View 25 13 19 21 — 78
BRI: Barton 20; Ingles 10; Kaufmann 2; Lindquist 5; Kehl 4; Vyuinkel 1;. SV: Chapman 6; Krebs 6; Nielson 21; Carlsen 20; Hale 2; Stuart 7; Archibald 1.
American Fork 66, Bingham 50
Bingham 2 14 14 20 — 20
Am. Fork 19 16 14 17 — 66
BING: Harvey 16; Rasmussen 2; Loftus 12; Tupea 13; Cloward 4; Sine 2; McNicol 1. AF: Palmer 4; Farnsworth 2; Franson 6; Moeaki 14; Shepherd 17; Stephenson 2; Andrus 2; Holmstead 10; Katoa 9.
"The lights are the brightest here, and every team comes here and wants to do their best. These girls are no different. They knew they could come in, set the tone and get after it. I think they've done a great job so far. Two games down."
Abigail Harper hit 4 of 7 shots off the bench for nine points for Sky View, and Kelsey Chapman and Hunter Krebs each supplied six points for the Bobcats.
Dani Barton led Brighton (14-8) with 20 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals. But not even the Utah volleyball commit could do much in the face of Sky View's fast start.
Brooke Ingles added 10 points for the Bengals, who had 16 turnovers and gave up 27 points on them.
"Brighton's a great team; Barton is unbelievable. But our girls hit some shots early that we didn't hit in the first game of the season," Hall said. "We got confidence, and we had the defense to back it up.
"These girls work hard every day in practice, and give it their all every day. I've seen them grow every day this season, and it's fun to watch."
AMERICAN FORK 66, BINGHAM 50 — At SLCC, Jenna Shepherd led nine players in the scoring column with 17 points as the Cavemen got out to an early lead and held off the Miners in the other quarterfinal.
Taylor Moeaki added 14 points, five assists and four steals for American Fork (18-7), which led 19-2 after the first quarter and advanced to the school's third-straight state semifinal and fourth in five years.
"We have good players, and we've had good players for a long time," American Fork coach Corey Clayton said. "I think we've worked hard to develop good players and depth, and then we let them play.
"I'm proud of what we do at this time of year. I think this is when we usually shine."
Addie Holmstead, a freshman, finished with 10 points off the bench for American Fork, which advanced to face Sky View in a state semifinal Friday at 5:50 p.m. at SLCC.
The Cavemen didn't allow a field goal until Journey Tupea scored with four seconds left for Bingham, and then took a 35-16 lead into halftime.
But the Miners (19-6) didn't give up. Leya Harvey had 16 points and 10 rebounds, then led a remarkable 15-2 run down the stretch to pull within eight points, 52-44 on Tupea's layup with 3:37 remaining.
"The kids all of a sudden started playing with nerves," Clayton said. "Maybe that was it — that doubt starts to come in after a long time."
American Fork finished the game on a 14-8 run aided by free throws to finish off the win. Tupea finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four steals for Bingham, which got 12 points and six assists from Madison Loftus.
