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TAYLORSVILLE — Hailey Bassett missed a free throw with just over a minute remaining in the Class 5A girls basketball state championship game.
It was about the only thing that went wrong for her Saturday.
Bassett had a career-high 35 points, including 11 points during an unconscious final quarter, to lift undefeated Layton High to the 5A state championship with a 73-65 win over Sky View at Salt Lake Community College.
"I saw the score, and I knew I couldn't let my team down," said Bassett, who also had a game-high 10 rebounds. "I wanted to put my all into my last game in high school before I go to college."
Layton (25-0) won its first state championship since 2005 — the last time the Lancers went undefeated at 24-0.
Clara Wood added 12 points on 3 of 6 shooting for Layton, which shot 62.9 percent from the field, including 80 percent in the first half.
Even after the Lancers clung to a 50-48 lead after three quarters, Bassett took over down the stretch. The Utah State signee outscored Sky View 8-0 by herself during a two-minute stretch in the fourth quarter that included a spin move drive to the hoop for a 62-53 lead with 2:20 on the clock.
Bassett scored six as the Lancers opened the game on a 9-0 run, and they didn't let up from there. Bassett finished with 10 points in the first quarter as Layton took a 22-12 lead after eight minutes.
"She's absolutely amazing," Livia Borges said. "She's an unbelievable athlete, an unbelievable friend and an all-around amazing person. I love her to death. We couldn't do this without her."
Tia Archibald scored with three seconds on the clock to pull the Bobcats within nine, 35-26 at halftime. But Layton showed few signs of letting up coming out of the break — even as the Bobcats (22-3) made a late charge in the rough, physical game.
"You go out as quick as you can to get that lead, but then teams can get back into it when you get winded. We just had to grind it out, but that's been us," said Layton coach Van Price, who won his second state title with an undefeated record. "The younger girls that came in for us did awesome, and gave us enough breathing room. I'm just so proud of the girls."
Kelsey Chapman and Kaylee Carlsen made four straight free throws to tie the game 48-48 with 53 seconds left in the third. But Bassett calmly knocked down a pair on the next possession to keep the Lancers' two-point lead going into the fourth.
"Hailey carried us on her shoulders," Price said. "She just would not be stopped. I think she's a big reason for us; she took it on herself to make sure we didn't lose this game."
Layton 73, Sky View 65
Layton 22 13 15 23 — 73
Sky View 12 14 22 17 — 65
LAYTON: Borges 4; Foster 9; Bassett 35; Martinez 6; Wood 12; Taylor 3; Viator 2; O. James 2. SV: Chapman 13; Krebs 13; Nielson 5; Carlsen 20; Hale 4; Archibald 4; Harper 6.
Borges put back her own missed shot with 5:38 on the clock to go up 54-49, but Chapman scored on the next possession to keep a one possession game for the Bobcats, 54-51. The junior who has committed to Utah women's soccer then jumped into point guard-mode and helped calm her team down to help the Lancers to the third state title in school history.
"Most of the time, I'm the energy for the team," said Borges, who finished with four points and six rebounds. "It was just huge for the team to get it together and get in a group. We relaxed, played our game, played our ball and we won."
Sky View was attempting to become just the third team in Utah state history to win back-to-back state titles while moving up a classification. The reigning 4A champions would have been the first team to accomplish the feat since Richfield in 2009-10 while moving between 2A and 3A.
Carlsen led the Bobcats with 20 points and four steals. Chapman and Krebs each added 13 for Sky View, which lost to its first 5A opponent in 2015-16.
"I'm speechless. No words can describe how great it is to not lose," Borges said. "You play as a team, win as a team, and this feels absolutely amazing. I'm so excited."
