High school girls basketball: Syracuse routs Brighton on way back to girls 5A semifinals

TAYLORSVILLE — Brittney Martin left nothing to chance when it came to getting her Syracuse Titans back into the 5A state semifinals with a dominating 66-48 win over a Brighton squad that had been playing well heading into the quarterfinal matchup with the Titans.

Martin led all scorers with 29 points after a 30 point outing less than 17 hours earlier against Alta to give the sophomore 59 points in less than one day.

But Martin didn't stop at scoring, she also grabbed 19 rebounds with a huge hustling effort.

"I feel good. I feel like the team did very well together," said Martin, who also reiterated what her coach preaches, that defense always wins ball games.

She also noted that this year feels a little different than last year, and the team is playing with a lot more confidence because it came into the playoffs this time with the experience of making it to the semifinals in 2009.

The two teams started things off in the first quarter with a close, intense game, and though the Titans led through most of the first, Brighton hung right in there with them, keeping it within one at 16-15 heading into the second.

With both teams having played Tuesday night, Syracuse coach Rob Reisbeck felt that they were feeling each other out in the first period before his team found a new release of energy early in the second.

"I think we got our second wind in the second quarter. We started making our covers and attacking the basket like we planned on. Something clicked," he said.

And part of the something that clicked was the great hustling effort of Kiana Fonua, who finished with 17 points and four assists for the Titans.

"Kiana's always had the potential to score a lot, but she's so unselfish, but she always gets a bucket when we need it. She gave us a ton of energy," added Reisbeck.

The Titans used that energy to outscore the Bengals 15-5 in the second period and give themselves an 11-point lead at the half before breaking away even more in the third period.

And the scoring punch lay mostly with Martin, as she picked up 14 points in the first half and 15 in the second.

"She's a great player, and when she gets rolling she's tough to stop. She's a great athlete, and when she gets it in her mind to take over, she takes over," said Reisbeck.