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Syracuse High's Maylee Anderson (2) handles the ball against Layton's Hana Lee in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Layton High's Kenley Bennie (32) drives against the defense of Syracuse's Zaydie Peterson (10) in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Olivia Sorenson, right, tries to work through contact from Layton's Kennedy Henry in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Layton High's Hana Lee (34) surveys the floor as Syracuse player Avery King (15) defends in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Layton High's Kennedy Henry looks across court in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Mindy McNeill (44) looks over the defense as Layton's Kaymbree Henry (22) defends in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Layton High's Jamie Vowles (14) lets a shot go over Syracuse's Olivia Sorenson (35) in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Layton High's Bryndee Kozisek (1) drives past Syracuse's Zaydie Peterson (10) in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Brighton Goddard (4) handles the basketball in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High students react during a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Rachel McBride, left, moves the basketball against Layton's Kennedy Henry in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Layton High's Hana Lee looks to pass in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

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Syracuse High's Avery King readies to shoot in a 6A girls basketball playoffs second-round game Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Syracuse.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

❮ ❯

SYRACUSE — By her estimation, Syracuse High senior point guard Maylee Anderson may have sat out for a couple of minutes of game time once or twice over the course of the Titans’ 23-game schedule.

Otherwise, Anderson has been on the court full-time, all the time for the Titans.

“Maybe when we’re ahead a lot … I don’t sit out too much,” Anderson said. “(Coach Braden Hamblin) trusts me to make the right decisions so he likes to keep me out there. I don’t get too tired on the floor so I can keep going if he needs me to.”

Thursday was one of those rare occasions when Anderson took a seat on the cushions, with Syracuse up by 27 points against Layton and 3:34 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 6A state playoffs second-round game.

The No. 2 Titans advanced to the quarterfinals at the University of Utah, laying it on the No. 15 Lancers 57-27 for their third blowout victory this season over their Region 1 rivals.

“Our biggest talking point was playing our game. The first two games we beat them by 20-plus; I didn’t want to fall into the trap of showing up and going through the motions to win and move on to the quarterfinals,” Hamblin said. “I wanted to use this game to tune up and play how we know we can. Business as usual, no matter the opponent.”

It took Anderson and her Syracuse (18-5) teammates a little over a quarter to take control. Layton led 12-11 after the first period behind six points from sophomore guard Kenley Bennie.

But, following a timeout by the Lancers (6-15) with 6:36 left in the half, it was the Titans who came out on fire with a 17-0 run over the next 5 minutes.

“It was kind of a rough first quarter. Our defense was lackadaisical and they shot 60%. We needed to ramp it up. We switched to a zone defense and got a few fast break opportunities,” Hamblin said. “Once we saw a few buckets go in, it was blood in the water; our girls settled in and played our basketball.

“Their crowd and girls were into it, and I felt the momentum was on their side a little bit. I was proud we weathered the storm and got our feet back under us.”

Senior forward Rachel McBride scored eight straight points at the tail end of the run, giving the Titans a 28-13 lead with about 1:30 remaining.

“I had a rough start to the game. Coach put me back in the second quarter and I felt like the team needed a change of pace,” McBride said. “Being confident and knocking down some shots helped us on the 17-0 run. My teammates passed me the ball and I was able to finish strong.”

Counting down to the last 27.3 seconds, the rally reached 22-2 after Anderson made a pair of free throws and an and-one on an inside basket.

Syracuse led 33-17 at the break.

“We got more steals on defense, moved the ball really good and got some layups that helped our momentum,” Anderson said. “Defense translates to offense. If we’re getting stops on defense, then we’ll flow better on offense. That’s how we roll.”

Anderson also scored eight points during the streak and had 20 points on the night, including 7 of 7 from the free-throw line, five rebounds, five assists and two steals for an outstanding overall game.

McBride tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, while senior center Olivia Sorenson checked in with five points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals for Syracuse.

A 10-6 and 14-4 third and fourth quarter led to Hamblin pulling all five starters midway through the final frame and penciled in perhaps Anderson’s third time to rest this season.

“She is amazing. She has the conditioning, the wherewithal, the mental toughness to be able to do it. I’m a firm believer if your best player can do it, you leave her out there. She has great legs and stamina to do that,” Hamblin said. “It’s a relief to have somebody who is an extension of me on the floor. She’s played for me since she was a freshman. She’s a calming force. When we need big-time shots and big-time buckets or get into our offense to execute something, she’s the ball handler, the captain of the court that gets us going.”

Bennie led Layton with 10 points and junior forward Jamie Vowles netted six.

“Having Maylee is a high luxury. We’re going to keep playing together as long as we can,” Hamblin said. “Tonight, I pulled her out. We have bigger fish to fry.”

That next contest comes at 5:50 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 at the Huntsman Center. The Titans will take on No. 7 Copper Hills (15-8).

“When you get to the U and the top eight, everybody’s good. The last couple of games of the season, as I watched the RPI, I felt like we had a chance to slip up into that No. 2 spot,” Hamblin said. “Hats off to our girls; we had to win out to win region. We’ve been in playoff mode for quite some time to achieve the goals we want to.”