It’s been a challenging season for the Riverton girls basketball team. 

A year after falling to 11-11 overall after an 18-6 campaign in 2021–22, the Silverwolves were 4-13 after 17 games this season, winning one of five Region 2 contests. With the second half of region action to go, Riverton had some work to do in order to garner a better seed for the Class 6A state tournament, which tips off Feb. 20. 

Riverton dropped its first four region games after going 3-9 in non-region play. Three of the league losses were by at least 15 points, but Riverton did play a close contest at home against Herriman on Jan. 18, falling 43-38. However, on Jan. 25, Riverton picked up victory No. 1 in Region 2, outlasting Mountain Ridge 55-53. The win was largely due to a big fourth quarter in which the Silverwolves outscored the Sentinels 16-9. 

Junior Faythe Stauffer has been the offensive star for Riverton. 

Stauffer leads the team in scoring by pouring in 16.8 points a game. She’s also second on the team in rebounding with an average of 5.1 boards a contest. She leads the Silverwolves with two steals a game and is tied with Halle Talbot in assists with an average of 2.4 a game. Stauffer’s top game in scoring this season was in the first game when she racked up 27 points against Roy. She has seven 20-point games this season and had a stretch from Jan. 3–Jan. 16 when she had five 20-point-plus games in a row. In the win over Mountain Ridge, Stauffer had her first double-double of the season, recording 22 points and 11 rebounds. 

Senior Emmalee Christensen is second on the team in scoring with an average of 9.9 points a game. She is the leader in three-pointers, having knocked down 23 through 17 games. Christensen had a season-high 21 points against Viewmont on Dec. 19. Her best game in region play was against Mountain Ridge when she had 14 points. Maggie Hamblin could be a player to watch in the coming years. The sophomore is averaging 7.1 points this season to go along with a team-best 8.2 rebounds. She’s also by far the top shot-blocker on the team, swatting away 1.1 blocks an outing. 

Other key contributors on this year’s squad include Talbot, Gabby Murdock, Savanna Drury and Ashley Halladay. 

Riverton scored a big first-round win over Weber in last season’s state tournament and then fell to region rival Herriman in the second round, 61-50. Currently, the Silverwolves were 16th in the RPI rankings, which would give them a first-round road game. To secure a home game or a bye, Riverton will need some big victories in the final five games of the regular season. The last game before the playoffs for the Silverwolves is at home against Mountain Ridge on Feb. 15.