The Skyline players know how high the expectations are and how strong the tradition is. So when Skyline graduated two of the state's best players last season, the questions came:

Will the Eagles be the state contenders they've been for the last three seasons? Who will take over the scoring and leadership duties? The questions almost haunted the players, but as the preseason continues, the Eagles realize they need to be their own team.

And a 53-47 win over Timpanogos on Tuesday proved to the players that Skyline can be just as good as it has been in the past.

"At first, everyone was not sure what their role was, but we're working together more," said junior Hannah Bezdjian, who led Skyline with 14 points. "This year, we know everybody has to step up."

Skyline started the season 2-3 but is now on a four-game winning streak. And the Eagles did it with a balanced team effort. On Tuesday, Skyline coach Deb Bennett substituted freely and frequently; ten players got playing time.

"Everybody made a contribution," Bennett said. Despite constantly having fresh legs in the game, it was Timpanogos who applied the press defense. The Timberwolves didn't have as much depth as Skyline, and though fatigue was an issue, the press was effective and Timpanogos was able to get a 15-10 lead in the first quarter.That didn't last long, though. The Skyline shots started falling and the Eagles went on a 12-2 run to take a 31-25 lead into halftime.

In the second half, the Timberwolves forced the ball into center Morgan Bailey -- a versatile post player -- and were plagued with turnovers. But back-to-back three-pointers by Lissy Bingham ignited the Timberwolves and they were able to cut the lead to 49-46 with a minute and 25 seconds remaining.

"We had some players [Bailey] in foul trouble and we have to learn to stay the course when they're not in," Timpanogos coach Liz Darger said. "But I am thrilled at how they responded. I just loved that heart."

mthach@sltrib.com