TAYLORSVILLE -- The roar was deafening.
After Pleasant Grove had cut Syracuse's lead to six points early in the fourth quarter of Saturday's state 5-A girls basketball championship game, a 12-foot jumper from sophomore post Makenlee Williams kicked off the game's decisive run.
Williams' basket also ignited Syracuse's already vocal crowd and the Titans fed off that energy down the stretch as the cruised to their first state girls title.
"Our crowd was amazing; they really believed in us," said senior guard Meagan Butler, one of five Titans who suited up for the final time that day.
"I couldn't have asked for a better senior year or better finish to the season."
The Titans' girls basketball team has always been well supported, but fans turned out in droves for Syracuse's four-game tournament run.
During their first-round home game against Alta, the school had to open up its entire bleacher seating area to make room for a highly-intense crowd.
Once action shifted to Salt Lake Community College's Bruin Arena, the Titans' crowds dwarfed those of their opponents.
"The girls have had a great following," Syracuse assistant principal Shawn Johnson said. "The crowds have been big all year."
Titans coach Rob Reisbeck said that crowd support was an enormous factor for his team.
"Our entire community has been very supportive," Reisbeck said. "They've been great at coming out and supporting us. As much as anything having that energy that the crowd brings picked us up."
As soon as they were presented the 5-A championship trophy, Syracuse players carried in over in front of their student body fan section, to a roaring applause.
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