On senior night, Addy Horsley walked into The Pit for the final time along with seven of her Bingham High teammates. 

Whether or not Horsley will go down as one of Bingham’s greats is a topic up for debate considering the Miners have won several state titles over the past five years. But Horsley, the Mountain Ridge transfer wearing No. 5, is certainly one of the more memorable this decade. 

Horsley, who came to BHS along with her older sister, will head into the upcoming 6A state tournament with plenty to prove to herself, her Bingham teammates and the community. 

No pressure there, but it is clear that Horsley has embraced the school and culture now, and in turn her Miner teammates have embraced her, having named Horsley a team captain for her efforts. 

In a way, it would only be fitting if Horsley were playing against her old school, Mountain Ridge, in her final home game at Bingham, a showdown between two of Region 2’s best. That’s exactly what she got on Tuesday Feb. 11 in a game that wouldn’t be decided until the fourth quarter. 

Trailing 12-10 after one, Bingham [16-7, 6-3 Region 2] had few answers for the Sentinels down low despite utilizing a switching zone that collapsed to the ball-side defender. Timely threes got  Bingham back the lead in the second quarter, however. Senior Lena Casperson worked hard inside for several buckets, and junior Stacia Peoples capped off the first half with a layup to head into the locker room up 28-24. 

The Miners had a chance to go up seven right out of halftime. A corner three attempt by senior Raylynn Richardson bounced out, and a Horsley jumper was the only basket for the Miners over the first three minutes of the second half, as Bingham led by one at 30-29. Too much height and length bothered Bingham all night, but Casperson refused to go down without a fight, battling for a putback to give the Miners back the lead at 32-31 with 4:22 to play in the third. 

Sophomore Evy Roberts tacked on a jumper to give Bingham back the advantage at 34-33 in a third quarter that saw eight lead changes. Roberts then drilled a triple that put the Miners up four, but the visitors answered, giving Bingham a slim 37-36 lead after three. 

From there, the Miners went cold while the Sentinels went on a 10-0 run, grabbed a lead it wouldn’t relinquish and handed Bingham a 58-49 loss. Casperson led the way with 12 for Bingham, while Horsley and senior Iman Finau each had nine. Roberts and Richardson had seven and Peoples five. 

On the season, Horsley is now averaging 15 points per contest and Casperson 10. Evy Roberts is at eight points per game, Peoples is at six and Richardson, four. 

Though there was plenty of basketball left to be played including a Valentine’s Day showdown at Corner Canyon, this night was all about Bingham’s eight seniors that are graduating. They are Brie Blanchard, Lena Casperson, Iman Finau, Addy Horsley, Reagan Littlewood, Kate Nelson, Raylynn Richardson and Emaline Roberts.  

Bingham entered as the No. 5 seed in the 6A state tournament (after press deadline). λ