By Rich Winter

Special to the Tribune

Bingham plays well but senior leader lost for the year

Bingham bounced back from a three-game losing streak to win by 20 at Pleasant Grove and get right back in the hunt for playoff posturing. The team’s leader, point guard Summer Yack, tore her ACL against American Fork on Jan. 26; her 14 points per game, ability to hit big shots, leadership and toughness will be hard to replace as she is done for the year. Against Pleasant Grove, the scoring was handled by Ashton Henderson, Jillian Powell and Laili Annapesi, who combined for 33 points in the win. There will be no region title, but a measure of revenge and a jolt of confidence are there if the Miners can beat a red-hot Riverton squad on Thursday.

	Join the Discussion
	Post a Comment

American Fork’s Sadie Williams notches career high in blowout of Lehi

American Fork prepped for its biggest week of the season with an 82-37 shellacking of Lehi. The Cavemen have been searching for scorers all season to complement Cassidy Fraughton, but scoring was no problem Thursday as Sadie Williams and Ashley Baugh both scored 14 to complement Fraughton’s 24. After hosting Riverton Tuesday, the Cavemen get a shot at Lone Peak, which won the first meeting 52-48. The middle of Region 4 is a logjam, so the Cavemen need at least a split to avoid finishing fourth.

Beeston’s 3-point shooting a bright spot as Lehi struggles

An overmatched Lehi squad fell behind early, then watched as American Fork raced to an 82-78 Region 4 win. Despite the deficit, Pioneer guard Beth Beeston made a trio of 3-pointers on her way to a team high of 11 points. Beeston is just a sophomore and leading scorer Jalissa Bagley is a junior, so the Pioneers will look for experience and improvement in their final three games.

Britney Johnson’s double-double leads Pleasant Grove in loss to Bingham

Pleasant Grove ran into a buzz saw when the Vikings played a Bingham team coming off three straight losses. Other than Britney Johnson’s 19 points and 15 rebounds, the rest of the crew couldn’t get it going in the 54-34 loss. With three games left, Pleasant Grove is two games out of the playoff hunt, so the Vikings need some help. Thursday’s game at Lehi is a must win, and the Vikings will likely need to win at American Fork on Feb. 14 if their 5A tournament dream is to stay alive.

Riverton gets defensive in crucial win over Lone Peak

After giving up 13 first-quarter points and trailing by 3 after one quarter, the Riverton defensive machine got downright scary. Lone Peak’s next three quarters: 6, 8 and 4 points as Riverton improved its region record to 7-0 with a 40-31 win. While the Silverwolves aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut — no player reached double figures against Lone Peak — on any given night a different player can step up, and this makes the squad hard to defend. The region title is theirs, but winning the last three — at American Fork, home against Bingham on Thursday and at Lehi — would cement their authority as one of 5A’s elite teams.

Karlie Taylor is only offense in Lone Peak’s loss to Riverton

A Lone Peak offense that had been scoring in the 60s started strong, but scored just 18 points in the last three quarters of a 40-31 loss at Riverton. Karlie Taylor continued her strong play with 14 points and 10 rebounds, but no other player had more than 5. With Bingham and American Fork tied with the Knights entering the week, the remaining games on the schedule become even more important. The Knights host American Fork Thursday and travel to Bingham on Tuesday. The 6-foot-3 Taylor has been a force as of late, but the rest of a talented squad needs to play at their peak down the stretch.