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TAYLORSVILLE — East wing Liana Kaitu’u had just watched her team’s double-digit lead against top-seeded Mountain View disappear in the final period of Tuesday’s Class 4A girls basketball state tournament opener.
She wasn’t going to let it go any farther.
Kaitu’u scored nine of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, and Lani Taliauli had 18 points to lead East to a stunning 56-53 upset of the Bruins at Salt Lake Community College.
The Leopards (15-9) won their fifth game in the last six tries, including a victory over Region 5 champion Box Elder on the final day of the regular season that clinched a playoff berth.
“We had to scrape and beat our No. 1 seed to get in, and after that win it settled our girls down,” East coach Olosaa Solovia said. “It gave us a lot of confidence. We’ve been trying to find ourselves, starting two to three freshmen. We’ve been without our leader all year, and that’s been tough.
“But the girls figured it out. It’s all the girls.”
The big win over the region champs gave the Leopards the confidence they needed going up against top-tier Mountain View.
“We finally realized that, when we play together as a family, we can come out and get that win,” Kaitu’u said of the 68-55 win over the Bees. “That definitely helped boost our confidence coming into that game.”
The Leopards dominated early, holding the Bruins to just one field goal en route to an 11-3 lead after the first quarter. The Bruins trimmed the deficit to 22-20 at halftime, then tied the game at 37-37 on Donja Stafford’s putback with 5:30 remaining.
That’s when Kaitu’u took over. The junior scored nine points during an 11-1 run, and the Leopards finished their free throws to hold on for the stunning upset.
“Our coaches tell us that this is a game of runs, and they’ll make runs,” Kaitu’u said. “It was just our turn to make that run.”
Mountain View (18-4) entered the game as one of the tournament’s favorites. The Bruins, who were co-champs of Region 7 with Alta and won the top seed on a coin flip, are the only team from Utah to defeat the Hawks in the regular season, and averaged 62.3 points per game — the third-most in 4A.
But East didn’t fold, attacking the early game plan with precision and holding on for the narrow victory.
“At the end of the day, they just played hard,” first-year head coach Solovi said. “It’s all the girls; I’m just here for the ride. I coach football, and this is my first year in charge of this team. I’m trying to take the same mentality we have in football and bring it to the girls. You never know; just go out there and play.”
Tahlia White scored a game-high 19 points for Mountain View, and Lindsay finished with 11 points.
Rita Satini supplied 12 points for the Leopards, who advanced to face Judge Memorial in Thursday’s 4A quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs had their own problems in Tuesday’s first round, trailing Wasatch until the final 21 seconds of game time.
But they led during the right 20 seconds.
Miyalla Tarver scored a team-high 13 points and five rebounds, and Vanessa Austin’s go-ahead free throw with 21 seconds on the clock helped the Bulldogs edge Wasatch, 35-32, in the first round of the 4A state tournament at Salt Lake Community College.
“I’ve got to make these free throws,” recalled Austin, who finished with nine points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. “I’m an all-right free throw shooter, but we’ve been working on our free throws. When I was going to the line, I knew I had to at least make one.”
The Bulldogs (17-4) took a 30-25 deficit into the fourth quarter, but overturned it with a press that held Wasatch to just one field goal in the final eight minutes. Faith Fitzgerald scored midway through the quarter, but the Wasps went scoreless for the final 4:02 of game time by Judge Memorial’s pestering guard line that forced turnovers and only fouled three more times the remainder of the game.
Emily Garcia scored seven with two steals to lead the Bulldogs’ guard line.
“Our guards came through,” Austin said. “They stepped up at the free-throw line, as well as at the front in getting those steals. We’re usually ice from the line, and today was a little rocky.”
Wasatch (18-5) led from the start, when Mattea Hayter dropped a 3-pointer just 58 seconds into the game. Wasatch’s Mackenzie McBride scored all eight of her team-high points in the first half off the bench, and the Wasps took a 19-16 edge into halftime.
“The first half was nerves,” said Tarver, who also had five rebounds. “We usually start out with at least 20 points, but this was a low-scoring game and that probably hit us.”
The lead swelled as high as 23-16 just two minutes into the half. But Judge Memorial never felt like they were out of it.
“We needed to play smart and be patient on offense, and on defense we just needed to step up and not foul,” said Tarver, a junior who led Layton Christian in scoring as a freshman. “We were just trying to get rebounds and stay more strict on defense. We know we are a better team than that; this was a really sloppy game.”
Judge Memorial 35, Wasatch 32
Miyalla Tarver had 13 points and five rebounds to help the Bulldogs rally by the Wasps.
Mackenzie McBride had all of her team-high eight points in the first half for Wasatch.
East 56, Mountain View 53
Lani Taliauli scored 18 points as the Leopards stunned top-seeded Mountain View in the 4A first round.
Tahlia White scored a game-high 19 for the Bruins, who lost just their fourth game of the year.
Box Elder 69, Corner Canyon 62
Keslee Stevenson scored a game-high 27 and Emily Isaacson added 18 to help the Bees hold off the Chargers.
Jaeden Vaifanua had 27 points to lead Corner Canyon.
Maple Mountain 46, Hillcrest 36
Lily Jex and Madie Eaton each scored 14 points, and the Eagles used a 19-0 sprint in the second quarter to pull away from the Huskies.
Cara Snowder scored a game-high 16 points for Hillcrest, which cut the deficit as low as four points in the final quarter.
Timpview 46, Highland 39
Ella Pope scored 15 points to help the Thunderbirds pull away from the Rams.
Lana Olevao led Highland with 12 points.
Springville 59, Kearns 44
Savannah Sumsion poured in 25 points to lift the Red Devils to an easy win over the Cougars.
Tierra Afufasi led Kearns with 13 points.
Skyline 61, Salem Hills 41
Madison Grange scored 19, and Hannah Anderl added 15 points as the Eagles soared past the Skyhawks.
Teresa Hamilton had 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, to pace Salem Hills.
Alta 85, Bountiful 52
Sisters Mariah and Kemery Martin combined for 40 points to help the Hawks eliminate the reigning 4A champion Braves.
