(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Breaunna Gillan of Copper Hills finds her mark over Herriman in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Copper Hills Laci Olsen is pressured on all sides by Herriman in the second half of their game in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Copper Hills bench erupts during game action against Herriman in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Herriman's Breaunna Gillen argues a call against her in game action against hostCopper Hills in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Herriman's Millee Enger tries to push past Taela Laufiso of Copper Hills in game action in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Herriman's Payton Nelson and Taela Laufiso of Copper Hills battle for a rebound in game action in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Copper Hills gets pumped up for their game against Herriman in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Herriman's Samantha Jessop tries to get past Laci Olsen of Copper Hills in game action in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Eleyana Tafisi of Copper Hills fakes a pass in the air over Herriman in game action in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Laci Olsen of Copper Hills loses her balance on the way to the basket against Herriman in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Herriman's Courtney Taylor splits the Copper Hills defense after a steal in game action in West Jordan on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2018.

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West Jordan • Copper Hills and Herriman combined to win 21 consecutive games entering their matchup Thursday.

The Grizzlies kept their streak intact with a 54-49 victory over the Mustangs in Region 3 girls’ basketball action. It was Copper Hills’ 14th straight win.

Copper Hills found itself clinging to a 51-49 lead with 57.7 seconds remaining despite taking a 15-point lead into halftime and a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. After forcing a defensive stop with less than 30 seconds remaining, sophomore forward Lenisi Fineanganafono stepped to the charity stripe and drained a pair of free throws to ice the game for the Grizzlies.

“That was a hard game,” Fineanganafono said. “But I’m grateful for my teammates, and I was just able to find myself in the second half.”

Fineanganafono, just as the majority of the Copper Hills offense, found her offensive rhythm in the second half, scoring nine of her game-high 13 points after halftime. Many of those chances came from shots or free throws following offensive rebounds.

“My coach always tells me, ‘You’re going to score off those rebounds,’” she said. “That’s my chance to score, so why not go for those rebounds? I go after them hard.”

Two more keys to Copper Hills’ offensive resurgence in the second half were the left and right hands of sophomore guard Eleyana Tafisi, who continually used her excellent handles to crossover defenders and exploit holes in the Herriman defense.

“That just comes naturally to me,” Tafisi said about her ball skills. “I used to spend every day working with my handles. Speed and agility also helps when I get in those tight spots.”

That quickness helped her score nine points in addition to her four assists and two steals. But the young guard was more worried about her team’s focus going forward rather than her stat line.

“That win wasn’t our best win,” Tafisi said. “I don’t really feel like a winner right now. We have some work to do in the practices coming up.”

While Copper Hills coach Ben Morely would agree with his sophomore playmaker, he knew that his squad would have a tough time attempting to re-create their success against a high-caliber opponent.

“We tried to emphasize that this was going to be a full game and that [Herriman] wasn’t just going to lay down and give us the win,” Morely said. “Shots come and go, and we knew there were going to be times where we’d struggle to score.”

But when the offense isn’t working, Morely is confident leaning on his defense.

“I’m probably most proud at the way the girls executed the game plan [defensively],” he said. “We defended their strongest players very well and made them take tough shots in tough spots.”