The top three girls basketball teams in Region 13 last year had a combined record of 55-22 and two went to the state semifinals.

With another basketball season underway, here’s a look at how Ben Lomond, Ogden, Layton Christian and Morgan’s girls basketball teams expect to fare in the region, which also includes Grantsville and South Summit.

MORGAN

Last year, Morgan prevailed in a tough Region 13 with a 9-1 record, finishing above Grantsvile (8-2) and Layton Christian (7-3). The Trojans and Cowboys are expected to be among the top teams in a deep Region 13 again this year.

Morgan returns two of last year’s top four scorers — shooting guard Elena Birkeland and center Alyvia Jaffa — but the Trojans graduated multi-year starting point guard Janel Blazzard and forward Alex Trussell, both of whom are on USU-Eastern’s women’s basketball team this season.

Birkeland averaged 11.3 points per game last season while Jaffa averaged 10.6 points and 8.7 rebounds. Morgan coach Sterling Mack said seniors Emmory Morrell, Mazzy Bailey and Amaya Rogers should play a big role on the team.

Mack says the team’s biggest challenge is a black square that’s high above the court.

“The shot clock, because it’s just going to be a brand-new thing to all of us at this level of basketball. Hopefully we can play an efficient half-court offense with high-percentage shot attempts,” Mack said.

The prevailing sentiment in the region is that the shot clock will be a challenge for every team, but it’s mostly being embraced.

LAYTON CHRISTIAN

Layton Christian is more of a question mark despite returning its top three scorers in Bianca Silva, Ruzgar Christina Boyle and Mariana Cubero. LCA beat Judge Memorial 59-47 on Thursday night with 20 points from Boyle, 18 from Silva, 11 rebounds from Marcella Leite and 21 points in each of the first and fourth quarters.

The Eagles graduated their top rebounder and have a new head coach, Jarrod Hoagland, after previous head coach Jeremy Jones resigned at the end of last year. Hoagland said senior Marcella Leite, guard Maria Carneiro and forward Grace Edogiawerie are three new players to keep an eye on.

Hoagland thinks LCA will be 10-11 players deep possibly, but the Eagles’ main challenge is getting a team of international players used to playing with each other.

“It’s like starting over every year with our new additions. We do not get to work with them through the summer and have limited time in the fall to get them used to playing with each other. I like the challenge though,” Hoagland said.

OGDEN

LCA isn’t the only team with a new head coach. Andy Blodgett and Tiffany Edmondson-Nolan take over as essentially co-head coaches at Ogden High this year.

The Tigers went 7-17 last year, 2-8 in the region, beat Juab on the road in the first round of the playoffs and lost by 10 at Richfield in the second round.

They’re 1-0 already with a 50-26 thumping over Juan Diego on Thursday in which Brynn Smith scored 15 points and Ashley Christensen had 12. The Tigers also shot 15 of 17 from the foul line and held JD to single-digit scoring in the first, second and fourth quarters.

Ogden is expected to be senior-heavy as it returns four-year starting guard Ashley Christensen (11.1 points per game, 5.3 rebounds) and a host of players who’ve played in the program multiple years: senior guard Brynn Smith, senior guard Elli Oliverson, senior guard Zoey Franklin, senior guard Donna Gonzalez, senior guard Ajae Belliston and junior guard Ruth Larsen.

The Tigers might be undersized with so many guards, but Blodgett thinks the team has another challenge to face.

“Our biggest hurdle that we must overcome for success is realizing that we can compete and be successful in 3A. Last year, we received a constant compliment from opposing coaches, ‘I don’t want to play you when your girls realize how good they are.’ Very kind of them, but I don’t want to hear it this year,” Blodgett said.

He added that minutes may be hard to come by for some of the juniors and sophomores, but spotlighted junior Tamara Jimenez, junior Izzy Nestel, junior Mariah McDonald, sophomore Macy Vine and freshman Salote Tonga as some new players in the mix.

BEN LOMOND

Ben Lomond returns four main players from last year’s 3-19 team that went 0-10 in the region and lost to Delta in the first round of the playoffs.

Junior center Dory Jenson is the team’s leading returning scorer and rebounder (7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds); sophomore Sophie Peterson, senior Leticia Gallegos and junior Ofa Arreguin are the team’s additional main returners, BL coach Chelsye Saulsberry said.

Senior guard Kyara Tinajero, junior forward Jazlynn Tinajero, senior guard Ariana Liptrap and senior center Dawnavin Frye are some of the new players Saulsberry spotlighted. Kyara Tinajero had 10 points Tuesday when the Scots beat American Leadership Academy 40-36.

MORE OUTLOOKS

In Region 13, Grantsville returns pretty much everyone from last year’s team, led by 21.3-points-per-game guard McKenzie Allen.

At the state level, Morgan and LCA went to the state semis last year and lost to Judge Memorial and Richfield. Judge won the championship behind Utah signee Teya Sidberry. Morgan, LCA, Grantsville, Richfield and Carbon are all expected to be in the state mix in some form.

Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.

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