This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

South Jordan • Even with a three-game lead in region over visiting Taylorsville in region play, there was plenty at stake for Bingham in the Region 3 game — keeping pace with Copper Hills atop the league standings.

And the Miners, continuing their strong late-season play, did their part by winning their ninth straight game in easy fashion. Bingham took a 10-point lead in the first quarter and coasted to a 67-41 victory as senior Sierra McNicol scored 27 points and Journey Tupea grabbed 11 rebounds.

"Bingham is a good team. Sierra McNicol is as fine of a player as there is in this state," Taylorsville coach Jodi Lee said. "She is just tough and she does everything. It's so hard to say, 'Just limit her drives to the basket,' because then she'll get offensive rebounds. I was really impressed with them tonight."

Taylorsville (14-7, 7-5) lost to the Miners 43-40 on Jan. 19. This time, Bingham (16-7, 11-1) scored 25 points in the first quarter and was already ahead by 14 points going into the second quarter.

The Warriors, led by 12 points from both Katie Burgess and Morgan Toluono, cut the deficit to 29-20 before the Miners ended the half on a 7-0 run to push the lead to 36-20.

"I think we're doing very well. We got a big win against Copper Hills and we knew Taylorsville was going to be a tough team," McNicol said. "We beat them by three last time, but we feel like we didn't play to our full potential."

The Miners often worked the ball into the paint with solid interior passes until someone, usually McNicol, got a good look. Atalina Pritchard, who finished with 10 points, was also a key performer as Bingham pulled away.

"I love that they're playing as a team. They're in it for each other and they're playing so hard together," Bingham coach Charron Mason said. "That's why I love basketball. It's a team game and I love watching them feed off of each other."

For Lee, Taylorsville's likely position as the third seed no matter Tuesday's result may have been a factor.

"I don't know if it's because there wasn't much on the line for us," Lee said. "I was hoping we would have enough pride to play (hard) regardless, but I didn't feel like that was the outcome today." —

Bingham 67, Taylorsville 41

• Bingham finished the regular season with a nine-game winning streak as the Miners opened a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter.

• Senior Sierra McNicol tallied 27 points for the Miners while Atalina Pritchard scored ten.

• Taylorsville was paced by Morgan Toluono and Katie Burgess, who both scored a dozen points, while Finau Tonga added 11 points and ten rebounds.