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Taylorsville • Salem Hills' Lauren Gustin plays with so much confidence in every girls' basketball game that it is easy to forget she is only a sophomore.

"I thank my lucky stars every night," said Skyhawks' coach Kyle Francom on Monday after Gustin led Salem Hills to an impressive 66-48 victory over Timpview in the first round of the Class 4A girls' basketball state tournament at Salt Lake Community College.

Gustin, a strong 6-foot center, dominated the inside as she scored 25 points. She got help from teammate Jane Nelson, who added 17.

Young Timpview, which gets big minutes from freshmen Shayln Fano, Jasmine Espinoza and Ella Pope, hung close for most of the first two quarters before a 10-2 Salem Hills run late in the first half broke it open.

"We were all a little nervous," said Gustin. "It was our first state game. We were rusty, but we got back into it pretty quick. I felt like we moved the ball a lot and hit the boards."

Francom had nothing but praise for Timpview, which got 16 points from Fano and 13 from Espinoza.

"They are a young team and incredibly talented," he said. "I hope they are not in our region in two years. They are a dynamite team. We had trouble in the first half keeping them out of the lane and, in the fourth quarter, a young team made a push like that. I didn't feel like it was an easy game."

What made Salem Hills go was the play of Gustin and Nelson, who were backed by a good supporting cast.

"They have good chemistry and read each other really well," said Francom.

Salem Hills, the second-place team in Region 8, will test Region 6 champion Skyline in Wednesday's 5:50 p.m. quarterfinal game.

wharton@sltrib.com

Twitter @tribtomwharton