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Taylorsville • Cheyanne Brown glanced at Springville coach Camie Oakey upon hearing her defensive assignment.

Guarding Judge Memorial's Vanessa Austin, who was superior in both size and strength, Brown understood the severity of this task: Fail and the Devils likely lose.

"I had to stay low and play tough defense [because] I knew she was a great player," Brown said.

Her head bobbing with every collision, Brown refused to concede ground, serving as an annoyance to Austin and allowing the Devils to attack the Bulldogs' star on the opposite end.

Once Austin fouled out early in the fourth quarter, it was off to the races for Springville, which used a strong burst to outrun Judge, 57-46, to earn a spot in the Class 4A semifinals on Friday.

"Cheyanne Brown, I think, had the best defensive game she's had her whole career," Oakey raved at Salt Lake Community College on Wednesday afternoon. "She's an extremely smart player. She was able to get her frustrated and then we were able to go at her on offense, which made a big difference."

Austin, who led the Bulldogs with 10 points, fouled out with 7:30 left in regulation on an inbounds play designed to attack her. Austin appeared to have her hands straight up on the play; however, in that particular scenario, giving up two points hurt far less than picking up the final foul.

Springville pounced on that instinct to contend at the rim.

Despite trailing 7-0 in the first quarter, Judge Memorial (15-8) had a two-point advantage at halftime behind Austin, Mayree Ellis, the opposite post who added nine points, and Miyalla Tarver, who also contributed nine points. The Bulldogs owned the size advantage, so Springville countered with quicker guards and emphasized breaking out into transition.

The Devils (21-2) turned 15 turnovers into 19 points, and never tired, despite all three guards — Ali Monson (10 points, four rebounds, three assists), Olivia Park and Lydia Austin (20 points) — playing all 32 minutes.

"They have that type of experience," Oakey said of her backcourt. "They're very, very confident of what they're capable of, and they performed that way in the second half."

It was the second consecutive game Springville responded to adversity in the fourth quarter after blowing open a three-point game against Timpanogos in the opening round on Monday.

"They're resilient and they don't want to give up," Oakey said. "They want to win, and I get emotional thinking about it because they want this so bad."

Twitter: @trevorphibbs —

Storylines

R Springville advances to the Class 4A semifinals on Friday with win against Judge Memorial.

• Lydia Austin finishes with game-high 20 points for the Devils.

• Cheyanne Brown steps up defensively against Judge's Vanessa Austin.