The Bingham High girls basketball team started the season winning its first 10 games and ranking among the top five teams in the state. In region play since, the Miners have gone 2-4, with losses against Alta (59-54) Jan. 6 , Copper Hills (55-40) Jan. 13, Brighton (62-35) Jan. 20 and Alta (62-48) Jan. 22 while defeating West Jordan (65-37) Jan. 8 and Jordan (51-37) Jan. 15 and are sitting 10th among teams statewide.

“The girls are working hard and doing their best,” said head coach Charron Mason, who is in her second year leading the program after spending the last 11 years as an assistant. “We are figuring out how to play as a team and how to get the most out of each player.”

Junior guard Madison Loftus and junior forward Leya Harvey – both team captains – have been the leading scorers for the Miners squad that lost in the 5A state quarterfinals a year ago to eventual state champion Fremont. Both average 10 points a game while senior guard Marlee Malohi (9 points a game), sophomore point guard Jade Sine (8) and junior guard Kylie Whipple (5) round out Bingham’s main contributors offensively.

So far this season, Bingham has defeated Syracuse, Timpanogos, Pleasant Grove, Spanish Fork, Weber, Herriman, Granger, Kearns, Riverton, Taylorsville, West Jordan and Jordan, with six of those wins by double-digit margins.

“We are competing for a top spot in region,” Mason said. “We need to cut down on turnovers, tighten up our defense, battle through each game and really compete. If we focus on those things, we can hopefully make improvements through the second half of region play.”

During the off-season, the girls focused on getting stronger and faster to achieve the team’s goals of being competitive every night and doing their best. 

“We want to improve each game and focus on the success that comes from improvement,” Mason said.

Also on the Bingham squad this season are senior Britta Gotberg; juniors Fatai Mounga, Cambreigh Muhlestein and Shea Rasmussen; sophomores Jackie Asay, Brooklyn Bailey, Aimee Dunn, Allie Hansen, Maddy Holman and Atalina Pritchard; and freshmen Kendzee Cloward, Leisa Elisaia, Kennedy Hada, Sidney Hogan, Nicole McMullin and Natalie Stout.

Off the court, many of Bingham’s players volunteered for several hours at the J.L. Sorenson Recreation Center’s New Year’s Eve celebration. 

“I thought it was awesome that these teenage girls were willing to volunteer on a holiday and give up other plans in order to be there,” Mason said. “I was so proud of them as I watched them interact with everyone and represent Bingham basketball and, more importantly, themselves.”

Bingham is scheduled to play Brighton, West Jordan, Copper Hills and Jordan to close out region play before the state tournament Feb. 16-21 at Salt Lake Community College.

“The girls have worked hard to improve their skills and basketball knowledge each game, and hopefully, we will continue to get better each game,” Mason said. “If we can gain that momentum, it will hopefully help us to go into postseason.”