High school girls basketball: Brighton seniors strengthen their resume by burying Alta

At this time of year, sometimes there are more important things to basketball coaches than winning games.

Namely, winning impressively.

The Brighton Bengals did that Tuesday night as Lucy Chin scored 18 points and led five players in double figures as they clinched second place in Region 6 with a 69-56 win over Alta.

The Bengals celebrated “Senior Night” with lengthy pregame festivities, then Chin, Charlotte O’Neal (16 points), Olivia Stephens (13), Ruth Larsen (12) and Sophie Nelson (10) made some good memories in their final regular season home game by jumping on their longtime rival.

“It’s all about team,” said Brighton coach Kane Stokes. “I love it when we have so many players in double figures. That’s our type of game.”

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The Bengals shot just over 40% from the field, and Chin was particularly impressive with her long-distance shooting. She made 5 of 9 3-pointers, including a pair late in the third quarter after Alta narrowed the gap to 38-31.

“Our type of ball is just moving it around, sharing the basketball and giving everyone a chance to move and without the ball,” Stokes said. “Alta is a good program and they’ll always put up a fight. These kids know each other from club ball and know what they can do. We just want to keep getting better late in the season.”

Stokes hopes the win, which improved Brighton’s record to 15-7 overall and 9-2 in region, will be enough to kick its RPI ratings higher and allow the Bengals to secure at least a No. 8 seed (and a first-round bye) at the 5A state tournament, which starts Feb. 18.

Stokes said he created an early season schedule to include games against powers such as Copper Hills, Bountiful and Payson to enhance his team’s RPI.

Now they have only one more game (at East) to try to pad their standing.

Alta is facing the same fate. However, the Hawks lost to the Bengals for the second time this season, fell to 13-10 overall and finished 7-5 in region.

Alta had its share of highlights Tuesday, especially guard Alia Baldassano, who had 21 points. However, the Hawks’ effort and intensity was missing after they got within seven points and, a few minutes later, Chin made them pay a couple of times and Brighton rebuilt its lead to 20.

Alta’s fate was probably determined early, when it made just one of its first 12 shots and fell behind 9-0.

Quincy Kegel added 11 points for the Hawks.