SALT LAKE CITY — The word “mudita” isn’t well-known to most, but for Bingham, it played big during the team’s lowest moment during Friday’s semifinal matchup versus Copper Hills.
Not much was going right for the Miners in the third quarter, with the Grizzlies forging a 28-20, leaving Bingham coach Charron Mason no other option but to call a timeout in hopes of turning things around. Mason doesn’t remember any specific schematic changes put forth, nor anything she may have said during the timeout, but remembered clearly what Bingham team captain Ameleya Angilau said.
“We have this special word, ‘mudita,’ and it means that you’re so happy for your team’s success,” Mason said. “She called that out and everybody just got on the same page, and they just never looked back.”
Sure enough, Mason’s team responded with an 11-0 run out of the timeout to take a 31-28 lead, and then never looked back en route to a 47-38 win and a berth in the 6A state championship.
Bingham 47, Copper Hills 38
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Leading scorers
Bingham: Sierra Lichtie, 17
Copper Hills: Eleyana Tafisi, 14
Leading the team from the point, it made all the sense in the world that it was Angilau providing the inspiration.
“She for sure is our glue,” said Bingham sophomore Sierra Lichtie said of one of her senior captains. “We rely on Ameleya for a lot. She’s our glue.”
As for Lichtie, she responded as well as anyone to Angilau’s leadership, scoring five points and pulling down multiple rebounds during the run. Altogether, the sophomore finished with a team-high 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Bingham’s other captain is Sierra Lichtie’s older sister, Jaycee Lichtie, who had a great game in her own right, scoring 13 points and adding eight rebounds while coming alive in the fourth quarter to help finish off the Grizzlies.
“(Sierra) does it for her team, and she does it for her sister, and they have a really, really special relationship,” Mason said. “... They’re both really good basketball players, and they’ve both worked so hard to this point.”
“We have this special word, ‘mudita,’ and it means that you’re so happy for your team’s success. She called that out and everybody just got on the same page, and they just never looked back.” — Bingham coach Charron Mason
Copper Hills didn’t just go away after Bingham’s big run, however, and managed to cut the lead to just 34-33 early in the fourth quarter. But another timeout led to a 3-pointer from Jaycee Lichtie and a driving shot by Sierra Lichtie to push the lead to 39-33 to snatch back a lot of the momentum.
Fittingly, it was Sierra Lichtie finishing things off, making 5 of 6 foul shots in the game’s final seconds to prevent any type of comeback attempt by the Grizzlies.
As for Angilau, she controlled the flow of the game from start to finish, scoring seven points, dishing out six assists and collecting three steals. She also drew the tough assignment of guarding Copper Hills’ standout guard Eleyana Tafisi, who finished with 14 points on 5 of 20 shooting from the field.
With the win, Bingham advances to the championship game where it will have a chance to repeat as champions taking on Fremont.
“We are just grateful to be able to play another game,” Mason said. “It’s such a fun team to coach and we just want to play. It’s sad that tomorrow is the last game.”