(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) East High Leopards Lani Taliaul (54) tries to wrestle the ball from Brighton Bengals Naomi Kehl (32), in Class 5A women's basketball playoff game between Brighton and East High, Monday, Feb. 19, 2018.
Taylorsville • After playing at Brighton’s pace most of the game, East finally flipped a switch in the fourth quarter and looked every bit the part of region champ.
The Leopards used a 13-2 run to pull away late in the fourth quarter and defeat Brighton 49-37 in the first round of the Class 5A girls’ basketball state tournament Moonday night.
East (20-2) advanced to meet Viewmont (17-3) in Wednesday’s state quarterfinals.
“It was all mental for us,” East senior Liana Kaitu’u said. “We could have obviously done better than we did, but we came together as a team in the end and finished. That’s all that mattered.”
Kaitu’u scored four of her 11 points in East’s late spurt that started after Brighton’s Sidney Kauffmann scored to cut the lead to 34-31.
Rae Falatea hit a 3-pointer to start the Leopards’ run, and Lani Taliauli had back-to-back baskets. East outscored Brighton 17-9 in the final period.
Though it never really felt like East was in trouble of becoming the third region champ to fall on Day 1, the Leopards just weren’t able to string together multiple scoring opportunities.
Credit Brighton for slowing the tempo and using a proficient passing game. The Bengals (9-11) had 11 assists on their 12 field goals.
“We knew Brighton was going to come in and try to slow it down,” East coach Olosaa Solovai said. “I just tried to remind them this is exactly what Highland did. You guys have seen this before. Don’t be baited into quick shots.
“I’m proud of the girls. They did a good job.”
Sophomore Emily Moss scored 12 points for Brighton, which led for just 14 seconds in the second quarter.
Falatea had 12 points, Kaitu’u added a game-high 13 rebounds and Rita Satini scored 10 points for East, which outscored Brighton 30-10 in the paint.
EAST 49, BRIGHTON 37 <br>• Liana Kaitu’u finishes with 11 points and 13 rebounds as the Leopards advance to the state quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. <br>• Brighton’s prolific passing results in 11 assists on 12 field goals. <br>• East dominates inside, outscoring Brighton 30-10 in the paint.