Lady Dinos beat Union; tie at Region 14 top spot

    The Carbon Lady Dinos defeated the Union Cougars 62-53 on Tuesday night at home.
    With the win, Carbon is now tied with the Cougars in the loss column at the top of the Region 14 standings.
    “That was a huge win for us, it gives us a chance to get a share of the region championship. I couldn’t be prouder of our team,” said Carbon Head Coach Ted Bianco.
    To get the win the Lady Dinos had to fight through foul trouble throughout most of the night. Three of the five starters for Carbon had at least four fouls by the end of the game.
    Junior Jodi Noyes, Senior Kelsey Sorenson and Freshman McKenna Blanc each had early foul trouble in the first half but Carbon was able to pull through to take the lead at halftime.
    “We had to play through the what the card that was dealt to us, we can’t sit and blame officiating or anything else. We have to play through that and in a way, it was good that our team played through that adversity,” said Bianco.
    Coming out of the halftime break, Carbon came out on a 10-2 run in the first three minutes of the third quarter to give themselves a cushion before fouls became a factor for them again.
    After the game Blanc said that the team’s attitude and mindset helped them play well in foul trouble during the second half.
    “If we would have got down on ourselves and just played for ourselves it would have been a lot worse because we would have brought the team down. But we stayed positive and that’s all that matters,” said Blanc.
    Sorenson while playing with three fouls in the third quarter scored eight of her fourteen points.
    In the fourth quarter the defense of Carbon stepped up and only allowed the Cougars to score six points, two of which came from the free throw line.
    Before fouling out with just over four minutes left, Noyes was a presence both on offense and defense for the Lady Dinos. She would finish the night as the leading scorer with 15 points, scoring eight of those points in the first quarter.
    Tuesday’s win was also the final home game of the season making it senior night for Sorenson, the Lady Dinos lone senior.
    “She did amazing tonight, I love playing with her and she always bring her teammates up. I look up to Kelsey a lot and how aggressive she is with the ball and how positive she is with everyone,” said Blanc.
    The Lady Dinos now will turn their attention to this Thursday night’s regular season finale on the road against American Leadership Academy.
    If Carbon wins on Thursday and Delta beats Juab this week, Carbon will earn a share of the Region 14 title. The title would be their fifth Region title they have won or shared in the last seven seasons.
    The 3A State Playoffs will begin next Friday in Heber at Wasatch High School. Tipoff time and opponent will be announced later this week.