‘Bottling that up’: Morgan girls escape Ogden to secure region title; Blodgett says Tigers not done yet
Fervent defenses clash in 47-40 Trojan victory on Ogden's senior night
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- Morgan High’s Kamry Wardell, center, drives between Ogden High’s Juliet Knowles and Megan Beus during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Salote Tonga, middle, puts up a jumper against Morgan High during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Morgan High’s Mikayla Williams posts up against Ogden High’s Juliet Knowles during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Jill Wood brings the ball down the floor against Morgan High during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Taylor Duke lends a hand to a fallen Morgan High player during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Megan Beus brings the ball down the floor against Morgan High during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High gathers after a timeout during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Juliet Draper and Salote Tonga greet each other during the starting lineups before tipoff off against Morgan High for a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High celebrates a basket against Morgan High during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- The man with the mustache, Ogden High assistant principal Alma Palmer, laughs with a student during a region girls basketball contest against Morgan on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
OGDEN — In four seasons as head coach of Ogden High girls basketball, Andy Blodgett hasn’t seen a team compete quite like this one.
The Tigers are an 11-win team for just the second time since Blodgett took on the job in 2022 and, while this latest season has been far from perfect, it’s the canvas of progress for the program’s seven seniors.
A fourth-quarter dogfight with Region 12 leader Morgan remained a one-possession ballgame with less than a minute to go, and Zoe Rockenfield gave the Trojans the bump they needed at the free-throw line to play spoiler to Ogden’s senior night 47-40 on Thursday to win its first region in four years.
But when asked, Ogden senior Jill Wood — netting four points entirely in the second quarter this latest loss — wouldn’t prefer any other opponent for what could be her final home basketball game as a Tiger.
“We’d rather play a hard team than someone we’re going to roll over,” Wood said. “It makes us dig deeper, and it sucks that we didn’t come out on top, but I’m proud of how we played. We were a lot more prepared because we threw multiple defenses at them and they didn’t know what was coming.”
Defense was, in fact, the theme of the contest from a 6-6 stalemate at the end of the first quarter, to an 11-point deficit Ogden (11-12, 4-6 Region 12) practically erased in the fourth quarter with three minutes left to play. From beginning to end, Wood and her Tigers wanted a piece of the Trojans (13-10, 9-1) for possibly the final time.
The opening half saw both sides test one another in transition. While Ogden penciled in three baskets from three different scorers — Wood, senior Salote Tonga (six points) and Taylor Duke (five points) — Morgan junior Makayla Williams (13 points) managed both of her team’s first-quarter field goals.
Breaking her silence, Morgan sophomore Rockenfield, finishing with a floor-high 14 points on Thursday, reintroduced herself with two of her four total 3s in the second quarter, as the Trojans led by five at the break.
“They were ready to play,” Williams said of Ogden. “We had to come out tougher. … They do have height on us, but we can balance that out with speed. Our team is very fast and we’re really aggressive, and so we go for 50-50 balls, and I think we’re really good at that.”
Coming out hot, Ogden senior post Lauretta Taukiuvea (eight points) opened the third quarter with six points as part of a 7-2 start for a 21-all contest roughly two minutes into the second half.
Wood and Ogden senior Megan Beus (three points) tried to keep up with Morgan behind the arc, but three triples between Rockenfield, Kamry Wardell (nine points) and Vivie Gale (three points) boosted the Trojans to a 34-27 advantage to begin the fourth quarter.
Williams got Morgan off to a 5-0 run, and subsequent timeout by Ogden, to begin the final frame, but three defensive fouls saw Ogden’s Millie Nadolski (three points) and Juliet Knowles (eight points) string together four free points. That trimmed the Trojan lead down to two with 3:07 left.
The question of why two freshmen newcomers can come up with such critical baskets down the stretch is best answered by Ogden’s senior class, which Blodgett credits with lighting the way for his bench this season.
“We can really put the burden on the seniors to lead us and calm us down,” Blodgett said. “It allows us to not just suffer with youth and inexperience. We can just really spoon-feed the youth that we have and put them in good situations because our youth is very talented and our seniors have done a fantastic job of leading the way.”
Battling Morgan at the free-throw line, Ogden pulled the contest within three on a short-range floater by Knowles with roughly a minute to go. A late charge against Knowles, and a Williams jumper, ended up biting the Tigers inside 30 seconds.
Much of Morgan’s game prep falls on the defensive end, and it’s what Trojans coach Sterling Mack relentlessly harped on during the fourth quarter Thursday.
“(Mack) said that defense wins games,” Williams said. “We all carry through with that and we really believe that.”
Leone Mafi finished with seven points for the Trojans, including one of five free throws benefiting Morgan in the fourth quarter. Ogden sophomore Hazel Nadolski (two points) added her lone bucket in the fourth quarter.
With a win at Ogden, and Layton Christian finishing the region play 9-2 with a 38-25 home win down south, Morgan enters the 3A state tournament field with its 21st region title and its first since 2022.
Up next, Morgan and Ogden await their postseason draws in the 3A girls basketball state tournament bracket reveal, slated for 10 a.m. Saturday.
Blodgett and the Tigers aren’t done yet, but proving their worth state-wise begins now.
“I’ve been here eight years and we’ve never competed in region like we have,” Blodgett said.
“This has been a fun, exciting year and it’s because of them, the work they’ve put in and the love they have for each other. We’ve lost a lot of close games, but, man, we’re right in it and if they can keep bottling that up and keep pushing for two more weeks, I think something good can happen.”
LOGAN 24, BEN LOMOND 22
OGDEN — Ben Lomond led after three quarters but Logan (7-14, 1-9 Region 12) edged the Scots in the fourth to split the season series.
Nhyema Simpson led Ben Lomond (4-19, 1-9) with nine points and five rebounds, including the team’s lone 3-pointer. Diana Campos-Ramer totaled four points and eight rebounds, and Aliyah Gonzalez added four points, six rebounds and four steals.
Brett Hein contributed to score reports.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
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‘Bottling that up’: Morgan girls escape Ogden to secure region title; Blodgett says Tigers not done yet
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