With an 8-2 record in Region 4, the Taylorsville girls basketball team was just one win away from capturing the region crown. 

Taylorsville trailed only 9-1 West Jordan in the league standings. The Warriors were a game ahead of Hunter, which placed third. Taylorsville concluded the regular season Feb. 13 with an impressive 48-47 victory at West Jordan, handing the Jaguars their only loss in region play. The Warriors trailed by two heading into the final quarter. They got 12 points from Tessa Duke and 11 points each from Karen Jones and Siulose Jones. 

The win over West Jordan avenged an earlier 67-62 home loss to the Jaguars on Jan. 28. Taylorsville’s other region loss was at home to Hunter, 49-32 on Jan. 10. In their eight region victories, the Warriors were good at closing games out. Taylorsville had four wins by four points or fewer. 

Head coach Justin Hadlock was pleased with how his team performed down the stretch. 

We cleaned up a lot of our issues from earlier in the season and have grabbed a few big wins in region,” Hadlock said. 

Taylorsville was 13-10 last season and lost in the first round of the 5A state tournament to Woods Cross, 44-40. This time around, the Warriors defeated Hunter before falling to West in the second round of state. They advanced in state for the first time since 2019 when they defeated Hillcrest in the 6A first round. 

Hadlock knew his team would have its work cut out for it at state, where the Warriors would likely face some formidable opponents. 

“Unfortunately, because of some early losses, we will most likely have some tough matchups early in the bracket,” he said prior to the state tournament. “If we can get past the first round, we will be facing a top-three team in the second round. We will be the underdogs, but I think we have a shooters chance regardless of who we face. Either way, we are looking forward to the challenge.”

Taylorsville allowed less than 50 points a game defensively during the regular season. Offensively, the team had some ups and downs on offense but had some solid individual contributors. Karen Jones, just a sophomore, led the Warriors in scoring during the 20-game regular season. She scored 10.4 points per game with 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists a contest. Jones’ best scoring game of the 2024–25 campaign was 28 points at Hunter on Jan. 31. She also tallied 25 points at home against West Jordan on Jan. 28. 

Junior Destiny Harrison was second on the team with 7.8 points a game, with a season high of 21 points in back-to-back outings in December against Murray and Stansbury. Harrison also averaged 2.5 rebounds a game and a team-best 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals a contest. Sophomore Tessa Duke was another key contributor, pulling down five rebounds a game, second on the team. She also scored 6.6 points a game. Kaitlyn Sterzer, another sophomore, led the team in rebounding during the regular season with an average of 7.5 a contest. She also scored 5.8 points a game. Senior Siulose Jones averaged 4.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists each contest. 

Taylorsville has a young team that could make some noise in 2025–26. 

By the time the next season begins in November, Hadlock will have some experience to turn to. Only four seniors are on this season’s roster, meaning the bulk of the production and leadership will be back. This includes Karen Jones, Harrison, Duke and Sterzer. Juniors AP Apathajang and Kwagee Nayic, two other contributors this season, will have a year left of eligibility.  

Taylorsville, which enjoyed a state championship in boys cross country this past season—the school’s first state title in any sport since 2007—won a girls basketball state crown in 1989. 

The Warriors have plenty to be happy about this season. Taylorsville’s 8-2 region record was its best since 2011 when the Warriors were 10-0 in Class 5A’s Region 2. Taylorsville has also now won at least 10 games for the past four seasons. λ