From Deseret News archives:
Miners easily dethrone the Eagles
Only these directions came with some tears and hugs as the captain of the Bingham basketball team made sure each teammate cut a piece of the net before she finally cut the remainder and hung it around her neck.
"Megan is the glue to this team," said Rand Rasmussen after the Miners rolled past Skyline 48-28 with the same dominance that has marked their 5A championship run. Bingham's closest game was a 13-point win over Layton in the quarterfinals.
The other characteristic that has marked their play is that they've had a different scoring leader in each game, and nearly a dozen other players contribute points in each win. Every Bingham player has stepped on the court in every tournament game, including the injured. Rasmussen said that is possible because the players believe no individual award, honor or stat is more important than a team win.
"They bought into this Idea that if you win, the accolades will come later," he said. "That's what I'm happy about."
Still, Rasmussen acknowledged that some contributions cannot be found in game stats or even on the court. He credited his captains — Marks, Stephanie Sampson, Jessica Wilcock and Jessica Palmer — with making sure the team did what they needed to against the defending 5A champions.
"Without Megan, we don't win this game," Rasmussen said. "But without Sam (Stephanie Sampson), I don't think we'd be where we're at, either. The things those captains do, away from the court as well as on the court, are awesome."
The Eagles looked like they might contend for the first quarter, and even scored the first four points on baskets by senior Teresa Uipi. But once the second quarter started, the momentum, the game, and now the 5A title belonged to Bingham.
"It's just magical," said Sampson, who finished with nine points and two steals. "They beat us last year in the semifinals, and we promised that was not going to happen again."
Rasmussen said his team would have played anybody in the year's final game, but it was especially gratifying to draw the Eagles.
"They wanted Skyline, and that's not because Davis isn't a great team," he said. "It's because they knocked us out of the tournament last year."
The Miners extracted revenge, countering everything the Eagles threw at them. Uipi led the Eagles with 10 points and six rebounds, while Jenteal Jackson added 10 points.
The Miners were led by Marks, who finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Nicole Yazzie added eight points and five assists. Sampson had nine points and two steals.
