Girls basketball playoffs: McBride helps Syracuse fly into 6A semifinals
No. 2 Titans handle No. 7 Copper Hills in quarterfinals
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- Syracuse’s Rachel McBride, center, sends up a floater against Copper Hills during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Copper Hills’ Makayla Staker, left, and Syracuse’s Mindy McNeil (44) anticipate a rebound during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Syracuse’s Maylee Anderson drives around Copper Hills’ Abby Bush during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Syracuse’s Olivia Sorenson, right, spins around Copper Hills’ Riley Greenwood during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Syracuse’s Rachel McBride watches her 3-point try sail through the basket against Copper Hills during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Syracuse coach Braden Hamblin looks up at the scoreboard during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Syracuse’s Karsyn Visser (20) puts up a 3-point try during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
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- Syracuse students get loud during the 6A girls basketball quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.
SALT LAKE CITY — Syracuse High senior forward Rachel McBride was 3 years old, still several years from grade school, the last time the Titans advanced out of the quarterfinals of a girls basketball tournament.
When McBride spread her 6-foot-4 wingspan wide on defense late in the second quarter against Copper Hills, she seemed to be embracing Syracuse’s first trip to the semifinals since 2012.
The No. 2 Titans rode a key run in that second stanza and didn’t let up after the break, punching a ticket to the semis with a dominant, 55-38 victory over the No. 7 Grizzlies in the 6A playoffs Wednesday at the Huntsman Center.
Syracuse (19-5) led 17-15 midway through the second period before closing the half on an 11-4 run, taking a 28-19 edge into the locker room.
McBride made three free throws and a jumper from the left angle during the run, and netted seven points in the second quarter overall.
“I was a little nervous, but I got over it. I didn’t want this to be my last game, so I gave all my effort. Being confident and playing through the nerves helped me to not be too scared,” McBride said. “Coming in here can be scary … different atmosphere. Trusting myself and my teammates was important.”
She had a monster first half, with 12 points, six rebounds, two blocks, a triple and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line. McBride wrapped the game with 19 points and nine boards.
“I found myself open and going strong to the hole; got to the free-throw line and knocked some shots down,” McBride said. I told myself to do my job and find ways to contribute to the win.
“Defense generates offense; I pride myself on defense … move my feet and get stops. Big-time blocks are fun. They generate energy and it leads to offense and gets us buckets,” McBride said after recording two blocks in the game.
Syracuse won the third quarter 10-6 and the final frame 17-13, building the lead at every opportunity.
“They did some good things against our zone early, so we switched it up a bit. It flustered them in the second quarter and we pulled away,” Syracuse coach Braden Hamblin said.
Senior point guard Maylee Anderson scored 14 points for the Titans, fighting through a Copper Hills defense designed to thwart her and limit her touches.
“Their game plan was to not let Maylee get the ball. They face-guarded her as soon as they possibly could, but she managed it well,” Hamblin said. “She played off-ball and we used Zaydie (Peterson) and Avery (King) to bring the ball up.”
The Grizzlies (15-9) shot 30% from the field in the first half and it got worse from there; the Titans held them to 28% for the game.
“We felt like this was a good matchup for us. We thought we could hamper them a little bit defensively and attack certain aspects of their defense as well,” Hamblin said. “We preach one shot and done, and did a great job of rebounding the basketball. When you don’t see a shot go in … they got frustrated with their shooting.
“We had an advantage down low. Our bigs played well tonight and we were consistent, and we took care of the ball with only seven turnovers,” Hamblin said.
Senior center Olivia Sorenson scored six points and grabbed five rebounds, while freshman center Mindy McNeill came off the bench and added six points for Syracuse. King finished with six points and four steals.
Junior guard Abby Bush paced the Grizzlies with 19 points and six rebounds.
The Titans advanced for another crack at No. 6 Bingham (17-8) in Thursday’s semifinals, a team they narrowly lost to prior to their Region 1 championship campaign.
“It’s exciting to play (Bingham); we played them earlier in the season and I feel like we definitely left things on the court we can fix. It should be a good one,” McBride said.
Hamblin was happy to praise his team following the game, saying: “Credit to these girls for their hard work and determination. They executed in a big-time environment. I’m really proud of them.”
