In a region with stalwarts like Bingham and Riverton, one upstart is threatening to upstage them both.

The Taylorsville girls' basketball team sits atop the Region 3 standings with less than two weeks left in the regular season and are extremely close to cashing in on one of the most surprising region titles in years.

The Warriors are using an athletic lineup and outstanding offensive play from a senior and a sophomore to shake up the status quo in girl's basketball. While coach Jace Hymas is pleased with the results so far, he is quick to caution against getting too excited because the meat of their region schedule awaits Taylorsville (14-3, 6-1).

To finish strong the Warriors will need to rely on their athleticism to continue to dominate on the defensive end. Taylorsville is currently ranked ninth in team scoring differential, a good barometer of how good a team's defense is.

Hymas cites Micaela Seaman as the catalyst for the defense. The 5-foot-11 center has only broken double digits in scoring twice in her three-year career at Taylorsville, but affects the game in so many other ways that Hymas can't seem to get her off the court.

"She's long and quick on her feet," Hymas said. "When you're looking to make baskets for the other team tough, you need those traits in the middle."

And while the theory is that defense wins championships, scorers are needed to build a lead and put the game out of reach. Enter sophomore Whitney Mitchell and senior Saane Lo'Amanu.

Mitchell has been something of a revelation for Hymas, as he wasn't sure what to expect from her young gunner. But Mitchell started off the season shooting and has not showed signs of slowing down. Her 21 three-pointers rank second on the team as do her 10.12 points per game, and her three in the closing minutes of overtime sealed the deal the first time around against Bingham.

"Man, oh man, has Whitney stepped up," said Hymas, "To be doing what she's doing at such a young age makes my future suddenly look a whole lot better."

Lo'Amanu has been the team's rock so far. The five-foot-eight senior has been a headache for opposing coaches the entire season and averages 15 points per game.

She's also the leader that every coach loves and needs to have in the locker room.

"Without Saane, I shudder to think how this team would have turned out. We're really young, and we don't have the greatest depth, so having someone these girls can turn to when things get tough has been invaluable," Hymas said.

After last week's almost identical beat downs of Copper Hills (53-36) and West Jordan (56-38), Taylorsville has three games left on its schedule; at Riverton, home against Kearns, and their season finale at Bingham.

Riverton handed the Warriors their only region loss of the year Jan. 19, and Taylorsville is still smarting from that 57-36 defeat. A loss would give Riverton the tie-breaker if the two teams finish with the same record.

That makes the last game of the season against Bingham that much more important. The Warriors won the first meeting in overtime 43-42, but on the road at a hostile Miner Arena increases the difficulty of the challenge of doing it twice.

But with three games to go and the Warriors sitting in first place, excuse Taylorsville if they feel like they're playing with house money from here on out. No one thought they would be in contention.