The Grizzlies followed up last season’s 9-1 region mark with the same record, once again capturing the league crown. Copper Hills finished the regular season with an 18-5 mark after going 25-2 a season ago and reaching the Class 6A state championship game. This year’s Grizzlies captured first place in region by two games over 7-3 Bingham and 7-3 Mountain Ridge. 

In region play, Copper Hills was dominant most of the time. The team’s only loss was a surprising setback to Riverton on Feb. 4, 43-42. The Grizzlies beat second-place Mountain Ridge twice, 56-39 on the road on Jan. 23 and 42-40 at home in the regular-season finale on Feb. 13. Seven of the Grizzlies’ nine league wins were by double digits, and the team won four games by at least 30 points in region outings. In addition, the stifling Copper Hills defense had four region contests in which the opponent failed to score more than 27 points. On Jan. 21, the Grizzlies blew out Herriman 58-14, surrendering just seven points in each half. 

Head coach Jake Timpson was pleased with the region title and had high hopes the girls could once again contend for the 6A championship. Copper Hills had a demanding non-region schedule that Timpson believed would pay dividends in the postseason. 

“We feel pretty good about the season we have had,” he said. “We had the toughest schedule in 6A, and so we’ve taken some losses to some good teams. But in the end, we feel it has prepared us for the state tournament.”

Early on, the Grizzlies fell to Grantsville (the top team in 3A) and Ridgeline (the top team in 4A) as well as to a pair of out-of-state foes in a pre-Christmas tournament. Aside from the loss to Riverton, Copper Hills had an unblemished 2025 and weren’t challenged in most contests. Timpson knows the stakes are much higher—and more difficult—in the state tournament. 

Though he has confidence that the Grizzlies can beat any opponent and vie for the state title, he also knows every game will be challenging. As the state tournament began, he was hoping the girls could continue their stellar defense and be ready to take every team’s best shot. 

“We have to lean on our defense in the state playoffs, as offense usually takes a bit of a dip,” he said. “We like our chances, but we understand that if we don’t play well that any team in 6A can beat us, so we have to stay sharp and do the little things that helped get us where we are at. We believe we have a team that can win a championship, but we have to really kick it into another gear heading into the playoffs. Once you get into the playoffs, you throw the regular season out the window, and it just comes down to who wants it more and who executes the best in close games. We feel fortunate to be in the position we are in but are not looking past anyone. There are a lot of talented teams out there, so we need to be sharp.” 

The 6A state tournament began Feb. 18 with first-round games at the home sites of higher-seeded teams. The Grizzlies secured a first-round bye and start in the second round at home on Feb. 20 after press
deadline. 

Senior guard Skylie Barker is the team’s leader in both points and rebounds with 20.1 and 6.9 a game, respectively. Her scoring average is tops in all of 6A. Barker is also second on the team in assists per game with 3.1 and first in steals with 1.7 a contest. She is also a good rim protecter, blocking 1.4 shots a contest. Barker scored in double figures in every game during the regular season, with a high of 34 points on Jan. 30 against Corner Canyon. Coincidentally, in that game she also had her season high in rebounds with 15. 

Senior guard Ayla Martson has been another top performer for the Grizzlies. She was second on the team in scoring during the regular season with an average of 10.7 points a game. Martson hit 43 three-pointers to pace the team and also led the way with just over four assists a contest. She was just behind Barker in rebounding, pulling down 5.2 boards every game. 

Another senior, post player Aspen Fraser, has been a solid contributor and a key to the team’s success. Fraser scored 7.4 points a game during the regular season, third on the squad. She also averaged 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals a game.

On defense, Copper Hills gave up just 32.6 points a game in region play, more than 10 points a game better than Bingham. 

Last season, the Grizzlies took a 22-1 record into the state tournament where it advanced with wins in the second round, quarterfinals and semifinals. Copper Hills lost to Lone Peak in the state title game, missing a chance to win the school’s first-ever state championship. Many of last year’s contributors returned this season. 

In the playoffs, Copper Hills figured to be favorites to win the crown, along with Syracuse and Fremont from Region 1 and Lone Peak and Westlake from Region 3. League rivals Bingham and Mountain Ridge are also teams to watch.. λ