Brighton High senior Racheal Jensen scored a driving layup and subsequent free throw with 2:37 left in the game to propel Brighton to a 42-34 victory in second round action at the 4A girls' state basketball tournament Wednesday night. The Bengals will now move into a semifinal game at Weber State Friday night at 8:50 against the winner of Wednesday's Orem-Bonneville matchup.
Jensen's heroics ended a seesaw battle in which Brighton never trailed but could not shake the talented Vikings of Viewmont. Brighton led by as many as 10 points early in the game, only to see Viewmont continuously come back to make a game of it.The Bengals took a quick 13-4 lead as Marnie Maxwell canned two first-quarter three-pointers and Camille Lubeck added six points. That lead stretched to 18-8 early in the second quarter after Maxwell hit another trey. Viewmont answered with a 10-2 run, however, as Mandy Miller netted two three-pointers, and Jennifer Jones scored twice inside. The lead was 20-18 for Brighton before Jensen scored on a layin with two seconds left in the half.
The second half was dominated by defense on both sides. Brighton got quick baskets from Lubeck and Annette Monson to extend the lead to 26-18, but Viewmont struck back again behind Jones and Heather Le Mmon to pull back to within three at 32-29 entering the fourth quarter.
Miller's hoop just 20 seconds into the period cut the Bengal lead to 32-31, and Viewmont seemed poised to finally catch Brighton. That's when Maxwell went to work inside. Playing in the middle for Monsen, who left the game with an ankle injury, Maxwell scored three straight short jumpers to make it 38-31. Viewmont was held almost five minutes without a score until Tippy Taggert finally broke through with a free throw. Shannon Morrow then scored on a jumper to tighten the score to 38-34 with 2:44 left.
Taking the inbounds pass after Morrow's basket, Jensen raced down the floor, drove to the hoop and swung up a shot over Jones as she was falling to the floor. Her shot fell, a foul was called, and she converted the freebie to stop Viewmont's momentum and essentially ice the victory.
Maxwell led all scorers with 17 points, With Lubeck and Monsen adding eight each for Brighton. Viewmont was paced by Miller with 12 and Jones with 10.
Bingham 80 American Fork 64
The unbeaten defending champs moved into the semifinals with a victory over tough American Fork, which hung close to the Miners until the final period. Kae Cee Arnold and Debbie Dimond, Bingham's dominant post players, scored 23 and 22 points respectively to go along with Jenni Johnston's 17 points.
American Fork was paced by Jeanette Yazzie with 24 points and Julie Krommenhoek with 18. Yazzie canned five three-pointers for the Cavemen, who made 11 of 14 free throws. On Tuesday, American Fork made 40 trips to the line and converted 32 of them in beating Skyline.
Consolation Bracket
Taylorsville 46, Hunter 41
The Warriors stayed alive with a victory over Hunter, despite a strong fourth quarter run by the Wolverines. Senior Jill Chapman scored 15 points, including seven from the line, and teammate Krista Thorne added 12. Hunter ended its first season with a 12 point performance from Daniela Fischer and 10 points from Coby Winn, a sophomore. Taylorsville will play Friday at 3:10 at Weber State.