A meteoric rise was bound to fall back to earth and it did for the Bingham high girls basketball team.

It was a team that grinded out results like its Miners namesake. 

Nothing ever came easy for a team that head coach Skyler Beard said had a very simple objective in mind. 

“We're looking to stack days and get better each day,” he said. “Goal is to continue to improve and compete every day.” 

When City Journals contacted Coach Beard back in late December, he was pleased with what he saw from the Miners. 

“Team is looking good after week one with two wins to start the season,” said the coach who went into this season with a 35-13 record. “We have a great core returning and have added some very talented players who have come into the program.”  

But then a few injuries hit the team. When the Miners had returned from a trip to Las Vegas during the holidays, they looked like a MASH unit. 

When play in Region 3 got underway, Bingham [10-14] was beginning to get some of its players back. Vani Key-Powell returned on Jan. 5 after almost a month’s absence—but the Miners didn’t record their first region victory until Jan. 19. 

The Miners would again defeat West Jordan, the school they got their first region win over in January—then avenge a loss they had at Herriman earlier in the season with a 56-49 win over their rivals at home on Feb. 14. 

That set the stage for a team that had a little momentum and a red-hot Mata Peaua going into the 6A state tournament, where the Miners would play host to Cyprus, Feb. 21. 

The Miners stormed out to a 32-16 lead at the half against Cyprus and cruised to a 49-35 win at The Pit, advancing to the second around of the 6A state tourney. 

At Skyridge, the Miners trailed by eight points, 21-13, in the first quarter. But the Bingham defense clamped down in the second quarter and led going into the halftime break, 32-31. 

In a seesaw battle, Skyridge regained control in the third quarter thanks to some timely baskets. 

Trailing by 11 going into the fourth quarter, the Miners chipped away thanks to 20 points from junior Mata Peaua and a near double-double from Key-Powell [nine points and 10 rebounds], who is also just a junior for Bingham, but ultimately ended a roller-coaster season at Skyridge with a 64-54 loss. 

Skyridge was able to hold the Miners’ leader in scoring [junior Brianna Badonie] to only nine points, well below her 14-point-per-game average in this do-or-die 6A state tournament second round game. 

For the Miners, however, there is a lot of optimism for a squad that will only lose four players to graduation and is expected to be returning almost all of their starters, next year. 

By order of their jersey numbers, the 2022-23 Bingham Miners basketball team was: 

Vani Key-Powell

Emailine Roberts

Sophie Curtis

Meg Burton

Brielle Blanchard

Paige Nelson

Sarah Broederlow

Stacia Peoples

Umu Tukuafu

Reagan Littlewood

Raylynn Richardson

Brianna Badonie

Halle Bayles

Lena Casperson

Shyann Banasky

Olivia Throndsen

Ane Henderson

Peyton Gough

Mata Peaua