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WEST JORDAN — At 16-1, Copper Hills' fourth-year girls basketball head coach Jake Timpson isn't satisfied with just a great start to the season.
"We haven't proven anything," he said. "We want to stay humble and hungry at all times."
The Grizzlies' next opportunity comes tonight on the road at Herriman (7 p.m. MST). With the exception of a few games, Copper Hills has been ruthlessly sweeping aside opponents this season, with some of their wins making plenty of noise across 6A.
One of their wins was the biggest road wins of the season in Utah girls basketball, and one of the biggest in Timpson's four years with the program, as they knocked off two-time defending champion Lone Peak on Dec. 12 at the Fieldhouse in Highland 52-47.
Senior guard Ellie Taylor was the driving force behind the upset, scoring 28 points, including a huge layup with under a minute to go just before the shot clock expired that effectively sealed the game.
The reigning KSL.com Clean Simple Eats girls player of the week also scored 20 points Tuesday in the Grizzlies' 50-25 rout of Riverton. Despite the win, she said there's many different areas Copper Hills can still improve in before the playoffs start.
"Overall, we play really well as a team, but every little area, we can always improve something, somewhere," Taylor said.
It's hard to find an area to be much better in right now, especially on the defensive side. The Grizzlies' swarming defense forced multiple shot clock violations Tuesday, and held Riverton to single-digit points in the first three quarters — including just 1 point in the second quarter.
"When we're communicating and we're helping each other out, this team is one of the best defensive teams in the state," Timpson said.
It also helps that Taylor has some backup firepower on her side. Guard Skylie Barker, who is averaging 15 points per game, and guard Ayla Marston, who averages 6.8 rebounds per game, have been key pieces to fueling Copper Hills' hot start to the season. The three of them have been playing together since their sophomore seasons in 2021-22.
It's not only those three, however, that coach Timpson can lean on. Forwards Taylor Johnson and Aspen Fraser have also stepped up this season to hit timely shots for the Grizzlies.
"I think we're just a well-balanced team," Timpson said. "On any given night, anyone can go off, and that's what makes us so dangerous."
Timpson said he enjoys having his team fly under the radar. His refrain to his team has been: despite their 16-1 start, they haven't accomplished anything together yet.
"We haven't won a region title together, we haven't made a deep playoff run together, and we haven't won a state title together yet," he said. "To do this in the regular season is great, but you want to do this in the playoffs, too."
Taylor also has her sights dead set on lifting a trophy at the beginning of March. "We're still coming," she said.
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Alex Tumalip
