Riverton stuns rival Miners with late jumper

RIVERTON — The final play was designed for senior Amanda Hansen, but the suffocating Bingham defense forced the Silverwolves to improvise.

"I didn't even think about it," said Hansen after the Silverwolves pulled off a thrilling upset of second-ranked Bingham on a shot by sophomore Chelsea Sorensen 38-36 with two seconds left. "They were sinking in on me, and it had happened a couple of other times during the game."

With BYU-bound Megan Marks, who earned five blocks in the game, standing over her, Hansen decided to kick the ball out to Sorensen who put up a perfect jump shot for the game-winning points.

"What a pressure shot!" said Riverton coach Ron Ence. "Amanda made a great decision, and Chelsea just put up a great shot. This is only the second game she's started, but she's gotten more and more confident."

Sorensen took hitting the game winner against their region rival in stride.

"The plan was to get a layup or get fouled," said Sorensen, who finished with four points. "(Amanda) was covered, so she just passed it to me. I didn't really think about it; I just shot ... I'm way happy right now. It was exciting."

The shot capped a thrilling second-half comeback in which Riverton found a way to slow Bingham's offense. In the first half, junior Erika Newbold was almost unstoppable finishing with a game-high 16 points. The Miners took a 23-18 lead into the locker room and despite a layup at the buzzer by Riverton forward Alle Finch, Bingham owned the game's momentum.

That all changed in the second half.

Newbold came out and hit a jump shot, but then Hansen answered with two points for Riverton. The pair exchanged baskets again about a minute later. Bingham had a 27-24 lead when Emmy Jeppson hit a three-point shot to tie the game, and then Hansen knocked down two free throws for the lead. The fourth quarter was tight every second with the teams staying within one or two points of each other.

"That was a fun game," Sorensen said. What makes the win even more satisfying is that the Silverwolves have struggled to win some of those close games this season, most recently losing by one point to American Fork.

"I'm even more tickled because we've struggled lately," Ence said. "We finally won a close game."

He was also pleased that his seniors exhibited the trust in each other and the younger players necessary to beat a deep team like Bingham. The moxie Sorensen showed by putting up the shot with less than three seconds left in the game was another reason to smile.

"I'm absolutely tickled that she had the confidence to let it fly," he said.

Senior guards Shannon Hildreth and Shalyse Olney were outstanding defensively and handling the ball against one of the best pressure defenses in the state. Forwards Alle Finch and Avi Burgess were key in keeping Bingham from too many second chance baskets.

Stephanie Sampson led the Miner defense and finished with eight points, while Marks finished with six points.

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