Girls basketball: Layton pressures rival Northridge into lopsided win
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- Layton High’s Hadley Collier, center, looks past Northridge defenders Luna Garcia-Ortega (20) and Abbi Frost (5) on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Northridge High’s Maureen Pulu (11) handles the basketball against defense from Layton’s Kenley Bennie (32) on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton High’s Kamryn Flint, left, fires a 3-pointer over Northridge’s Brooklyn Mayfield (30) on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Northridge High’s Lauren Terrando (24) shoots a jumper as Layton’s Kenley Bennie (32) contests on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton High’s Hadley Collier, left, tries to drive past Northridge’s Brooklyn Mayfield (30) on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Northridge High’s Lauren Terrando (24) clutches the basketball in a game against Layton on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton Nigh’s Kenley Bennie (32) steps to pass around Northridge’s Maureen Pulu (11) on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton High’s Bryndee Kozisek (1) sizes up the Northridge defense on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton High’s Hana Lee looks to the basket before shooting agains Northridge on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
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- Layton High’s Jamie Vowles reaches for the basketball in a game against Northridge on Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, in Layton.
LAYTON — Second-year Layton High girls basketball coach Jerrell Stewart issued his team two challenges in the locker room at halftime Tuesday: score 50 points and hold cross-town rival Northridge to 20.
With mostly subs on the floor late in the game, the Lancers came close to their coach’s objectives, meeting the offensive total and just missing on the defensive side while comfortably cruising to a 50-24 victory in what is now a nonregion matchup with the Knights.
Layton led 24-7 at the break and expanded that margin in the second half.
“We wanted to approach it like a zero-zero game, with new goals to fire them up and make sure they were focused and ready to play,” Stewart said. “Twenty would have been nice, but if we dig in on defense and hold teams to 30 or below, we’ll win a lot of ballgames, because we can score the basketball as well.”
Senior captain Hadley Collier had Stewart’s number in mind as she dribbled beyond the 3-point arc midway through the fourth quarter with Layton up 47-20.
“At the end we were going for the 50 points; we were at 47. I wanted to get to that 50,” Collier said. I wanted to be the one to get us there.”
She launched the trey from the left angle and it found nothing but net for her third 3-pointer of the game, wrapping up a 16-point night and making the score, interestingly enough, 50-20.
“You kind of get into a rhythm. Catch it, find a nice release. You have the team cheering for you; it makes you want to keep going,” Collier said. “The team was hyping each other up and it was really good. It was moving the ball around, finding good shots.
“I pride myself on my assists, setting my teammates up and cheering them on; try to get them in a good mindset,” Collier said.
The Lancers opened the game in a full-court press that unnerved the Knights and led to a 12-2 advantage after the first quarter. That led to the 17-point lead at the half.
“We like to put a lot of pressure on early; it kind of wakes the girls up. I like to get them going, get them warm early,” Stewart said.
Collier said the team has bought in on that approach.
“We focus a lot on defense in practice and it’s translating to our games … a lot of running so we’re in good shape to do some full-court pressure. We get a lot of steals,” Collier said. “We’re fouling a little too much, but we can fix that.”
As the Lancers (3-4) near .500, they got a boost from former coach Van Price (the all-time winningest girls coach in Utah state history), who stopped in town last week to offer the girls a pep talk.
“Shout out to coach Price. He gave the girls some inspiration and talked to us about some things,” Stewart said. “Each game, we’re getting better. We’ve had some tough losses, but we’re learning that every possession matters. We can compete when we play hard every single possession.”
Layton had a balanced attack with eight players getting on the books, where Jamie Vowles and Kaymbree Henry checked in with seven points each.
Northridge (0-7) was led by sophomore Lauren Terrando, who had double digits with 11 points.
“We’re still learning. Every team we play is different. We’ve had a variety of lineups and players due to injury but, at the end of the day, our girls are making progress,” Northridge coach Chris Smith said. “We let the girls know they were going to face a press today, but we were reactive instead of proactive to the pressure and it put us in a bad spot.”
With the Lancers and Knights now in different regions and classifications, the players still appreciate the opportunity for a rivalry joust.
“It’s lots of fun; the crowd comes out … everybody knows you want to win. It’s a good environment,” Collier added.
Stewart has a little different spin on the rivalry, as he was Smith’s assistant for eight years.
“We’re competitors, but we’re brothers and that’s my guy,” Stewart said.
For his part, Smith has had a carousel of assistants go on to head coaching success elsewhere, while his current team continues to struggle.
“I was happy to hear about Jerrell at Layton. At the end of the day, it’s not about me, it’s about helping others get to where they want to be,” Smith said. “That’s one of the things I’m most proud of: the number of assistants who have moved on and got head coaching positions.”
