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Taylorsville • After a 60-50 loss to Alta on Dec. 2, Skyline knew it needed a different plan Thursday if it hoped to advance in the Class 4A girls' basketball state tournament at Salt Lake Community College.

So Eagles coach Lynette Schroeder devised a scheme designed to limit the Hawks' transition baskets and force them to play half-court sets, a plan her players executed to near-perfection to earn an 81-65 victory against the Hawks and advance to Friday's semifinals.

It didn't hurt that the Eagles hit 24 of 28 free throws in the fourth quarter as Alta fouled to get back into it. Skyline finished an impressive 35 of 42 from the line for the game.

Eagles star Hannah Anderl said her team shoots 25 free throws to end every practice.

"That was getting us ready to step up and knock them down," said Anderl, who led Skyline with 22 points and 15 rebounds, and hit eight fourth-quarter free throws. "They beat us in preseason, so we wanted to come and show them we could be the No. 1 seed. We worked a lot on defense. That really helped us win this game."

Though this was a wire-to-wire victory for Skyline, the game never felt out of reach for Alta. Mariah Martin finished with 25 points and Kemery Martin added 14.

The Hawks relentlessly pressed Skyline, often triple-teaming the ball handler, forcing numerous turnovers to get within six points late in the third quarter.

"It was intense," Schroeder said. "It seemed like it was a lot closer than it was. It was about keeping our composure and being poised. We had some tough moments. We knew they would come back and make a run for it. We just had to stay composed and step up to the foul line and make free throws."

Skyline seemed to find someone to hit a big basket every time it needed one, a fact reflected by its balanced scoring. In addition to Anderl's 22, Madison Grange had 17, Barrett Jessop 15, Camerson Mooney 12 and Sarah Trela-Hoskins 11.

A quarterfinal-round win in a game that would have been worthy of a championship game keeps Skyline alive for its first girls' basketball title since 2008.

wharton@sltrib.com

Twitter @tribtomwharton

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Skyline 81, Alta 66

R Hannah Anderl scores 22 points and adds 15 rebounds to lead Skyline.

• Skyline hits 24 of 28 free throws in the fourth quarter and 35 of 42 overall.

• Mariah Martin scores 25 and Kemery Martin 14 for Alta.

Class 4A girls' tournament

at Salt Lake Community College

Quarterfinals

Skyline 81, Alta 66

Timpview 55, Springville 54

Box Elder 49, Maple Mountain 46

Judge Memorial 45, East 43

Semifinals

Friday

5:50 p.m. • Judge Memorial vs. Box Elder

7:30 p.m. • Skyline vs. Timpview

Saturday

1 p.m. • Championship game