After losses to Pleasant Grove and Lone Peak in the same week set the Brighton girls' basketball team up for a potentially disastrous end to league play, the Bengals bounced back with two of their most solid games of the season. Just a week after Pleasant Grove defeated Brighton by 24 points, the Bengals avenged the loss as Katie Tominaga stormed downcourt to score the game-winning layup in the final seconds.
Two days later, the Bengals posted a dominant performance against league leader American Fork. The Bengals held the highly regarded Cavemen to just two points in the first quarter -- and nine in the first half. They came at them from all directions, finding success with high-percentage layups and from behind the arc.
Brighton's offense was executed with patient perfection down the stretch, allowing Kylie Hirschi to find her way inside for a game-high 15 points.
If anything, the Bengals demonstrated their potential for greatness last week. But coach Jim Gresh isn't jumping to any conclusions.
"No, I wouldn't say we'd turned a corner or any of that," Gresh said. "We've still got a lot of basketball to play."
But only one highly ranked team remains on the schedule. If the Bengals win their final three games, including a regular-season closer against Alta, they'll at least maintain their third place position in Region 4 and earn an automatic state tournament seed. A loss would set them up for one of Region 4's two play-in games. A loss -- or two -- by either Lone Peak for American Fork could bump the Bengals up in the rankings.
Just as expected, the Region 4 title is still anyone's to take.
One-man teams
Intermountain Christian had only two swimmers -- Jacob Wilson and Danielle Kfoury -- qualify of the Class 3A state swim meet last Friday and Saturday at BYU.
But the Lions, who typically compete in Class 1A, boasted one of the biggest wins of the day.
Wilson had the meet of his life, shaving nearly 3 seconds off his seed time to surprise a solid 3A field to win the 100 breaststroke in 1 minute, 3.19 seconds. Wilson placed eighth in the 200 freestyle relay in 1 minute, 56.58 seconds -- nearly six seconds faster than his 16th-ranked seed time.
Meanwhile, Kfoury placed sixth in the 500 freestyle in 5:48.84 and 12th in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:13.08 seconds.
Three-way tie
As of Monday, the Alta, Brighton and Jordan boys' basketball teams all shared the top spot in Region 4 with 6-2 records in league play. The Hawks have earned the solid region record by pulling out close wins -- most notably two one-point wins over Pleasant Grove.
With just four games left in the regular season, Alta looks primed to earn an outright seed in Region 4. But with rematches against American Fork, Brighton and Jordan still ahead, there are no guarantees.
