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The UHSAA girls basketball 5A tournament was down to the quarter-finals on Wednesday at Salt Lake Coummunity College. With every shot, every dribble, and every second that ticks off the clock, the players know that every moment is crucial to their hopes of taking home the 5A crown. It is now, win or go home.

In only their third year of existence, the Syracuse Titan's (23-0) defeated the Brighton Bengals (18-5) in a quarter-final match-up that now puts the Titans in their second semi-final match-up in their brief history.

The second period would prove to be the dagger to the Bengals as Syracuse outscored Brighton by 10 and took a 31 to 20 lead into the half. Syracuse's Brittney Martin and Brighton's Kylie Hirschi dazzled the crowd all game as they played the game of their lives.

Hirschi finished with 23 points, 19 rebounds, one steal, and one assist. Martin countered with 29 points, 19 rebounds, five steals, and two assists. In the end, the all-around production from Syracuse - including 17 points from Kiana Fonua - was just too much for the Bengals to overcome in the Titans' 66 to 48 victory.

While Syracuse cruised to a relatively easy victory, the same could not be said for the defending state champions from American Fork. The Cavemen (16-7) held their breathe until the final moments of their quarter-final match-up with Fremont (14-9).

Trailing by one point at the half, American Fork was in a tight battle with the Silver Wolves from start to finish as the Cavemen's shooting touch had abandoned them. McKenzie Moeai led the way in the game for American Fork as she was the top scorer with 13 points and also pulled in 11 rebounds but no other teammate scored in double figures as they prevailed 43 to 41.

In other action on the day, Clearfield (13-9) jumped out to a 19 to14 lead in the first half against Pleasant Grove (16-8), but the Vikings - led by Brigham Young University signee, Jennifer Hamson - but the Vikings came out with a renewed fire in the second half. The Clearfield Falcons were outscored in the final half of play, 31 to 14 as Hamson ripped the nets for a game high 28 points. Pleasant Grove now moves on to the semi-finals in convincing fashion after defeating the Falcons, 45 to 33.

Skyline Eagles (19-4) also moved on to the semi-finals on Wednesday with a victory over the Taylorsville Warriors (17-6) in a defesive-minded slugfest. The Eagles needed a brief spurt at the end of the third period to increase the lead from two points to seven as they eventually finished off the Warriors in a 10 point victory, 39 to 29.

Katie Walker and Hannah Bezdjian led the Eagles in double figures for the game scoring 11 and 10 points respectively.

Friday 5A Semi-final Match-ups:

Skyline vs. Syracuse
Pleasant Grove vs. American Fork.