April 2026 | Vol. 22 Iss. 4
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South Jordan
See Inside...
Shot at belonging
Chinese New Year JSD celebrates fifth annual event
Page 12
Unified basketball gives everyone a chance at connection Page 13
Bingham girls lift first state title in basketball in six years by believing in each other By Brian Shaw | b.shaw@mycityjournals.com
At the end of the regular season, Lady Miners stumbled a bit, but put it all together when it mattered most.
A
fter the Bingham Lady Miners lost 57-45 to Cedar Valley on senior night Feb. 10, something happened. Something difficult to put into words, but on Feb. 12 head girls basketball coach Hector Marquez wrote down one word for his girls to see before their game against Riverton. “Before every game, I would simply write ‘Believe’ on the whiteboard,” Marquez said. “They started to play with a lot more confidence, and they started to play for each other. They started to believe. It was truly beautiful to see them grow up right in front of our eyes.” That Bingham did, thumping their crosstown rival by the final score of 51-24 behind a 14-point, 10-rebound night from Veanna Pau’u, 14 from Brizzy Cottle and 12 from Evy Roberts.
“We had some really good practices leading up to that game against Riverton, and the girls played exceptionally well,” said Bingham’s second-year coach. “That was a lot of fun, and the girls really enjoyed it.” That ended the regular season for the Lady Miners, who finished with a 6-6 record in Region 2, a 15-8 overall mark and a 6-seed and first-round bye for the 5A state tournament. Bingham’s first opponent at state? Skyridge. According to Marquez, it was a tough second-round matchup against a perennial state power Feb. 19, and the visitors from North Utah County proved a worthy adversary. “The next game was against Skyridge, and although it wasn’t our best win, you could see the team’s growth, and we started to believe in ourselves,” Marquez said. The game was tied 12-12 after one
factory seconds blowout!
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After losing on their senior night to end the regular season, Bingham went on a tear
continued page 14 to win the 6A state title. (Photo courtesy Hector Marquez)
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