This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Taylorsville • Watching an American Fork girls' basketball game is similar to watching hockey. In an unconventional approach, the Cavemen substitute their entire lineup every couple of minutes.

Few teams are afforded the luxury of attempting to implement that strategy because lack of depth prevents them from doing so. But with talent stretching from one end of the bench to the other, American Fork uses fresh legs to wear down its opponents.

The gradual kill approach was on display in the Cavemen's 51-38 victory over Fremont in the Class 5A state quarterfinals Wednesday at Salt Lake Community College.

"It feels good to be in the final four again," American Fork coach Corey Clayton said. "[Fremont] does an amazing job. Their stuff that they run is really hard to defend. I thought they had a game-plan, we just had more legs doing it. I thought that was the key."

American Fork (23-1) won its 22nd game in a row and overcame its postseason nemesis in the process. Fremont defeated the Cavemen in the state championship in 2014, when this group of seniors were freshmen, and again in the 2015 semifinals.

"That was definitely a motivator," American Fork guard Taylor Moeaki said.

American Fork led 29-23 at halftime but started to increase the cushion with several offensive rebounds in the third quarter, something Clayton highlighted specifically.

"That was because of fatigue," he said. "When you're tired, it's hard to box out. Our girls were a little bit fresher and they were out of position. That's what our system does."

Moeaki finished with a game-high 23 points for the Cavemen, including 17 in the first half. Taylor Franson added nine points and eight rebounds. Berklee Lerohl scored 14 points in the loss for Fremont.

The Cavemen, ironically, were outscored 14-1 in bench points, but they had 11 players gain minutes and seven played 10 or more minutes to keep the rotation fresh.

tphibbs@sltrib.com

Twitter: @trevorphibbs

Key player

American Fork senior Taylor Franson set the tone on both ends of the floor, finishing with nine points and eight rebounds, including four offensive. She added two assists, three blocks and two steals in the Cavemen victory.