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Layton Christian's Ava Smith cuts down the nets after defeating Morgan High 44-40 on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.

Courtesy of Layton Christian Academy

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Layton Christian girls basketball poses with the 3A state championship trophy after defeating Morgan High 44-40 on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.

Courtesy of Layton Christian Academy

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Layton Christian girls basketball poses with the 3A state championship trophy after defeating Morgan High 44-40 on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Southern Utah University in Cedar City.

Courtesy of Layton Christian Academy

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CEDAR CITY — No. 5 Layton Christian Academy won its first girls basketball state championship, outscoring No. 6 Morgan 31-20 in the second half for a 44-40 victory in the 3A final at Southern Utah University.

The program’s first-ever championship campaign, finishing with a 17-9 record, came under the guide of two different coaches.

Interim coach Mark Burton stepped in for Jarrod Hoagland, resigning midseason, when the Eagles needed a new head coach with region play in full swing.

Together, they’d finish third in Region 12, behind Grantsville and region champs Morgan with a 7-3 record. Two of LCA’s three region losses came against the Trojans, winning regular-season meetings in January and again earlier this month.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult,” LCA assistant Mario Cadenas said.

Cadenas and two more volunteers stepped up to assist Burton, not immediately available for comment to the Standard-Examiner after Saturday’s win, for a job many folks might pass on.

“It was fairly difficult at first because we were three different people trying to be one,” Cadenas said. “The biggest thing was honestly communication, open lines of communication and being able to come to each other and feed off each other. …

“(The girls) have been together for the whole season and, this whole coaching change — it isn’t something you want to go through, but it almost brought them closer together.”

Back in the title game for the first time since 2023, Morgan took a 10-9 lead after one quarter, and expanded that lead to 20-13 at the break on the strength of an 11-2 run to end the half.

The Eagles used a 17-8 third-quarter advantage to take the lead for good, at 30-28 going into the final frame. In that fourth quarter, Sarah Ledio scored six of her game-high 15 points.

Fabiana Lopez tallied 13 points with two 3-pointers and Ava Smith scored eight points to go with her 13 rebounds. Sofia Olaya added six points on two treys and Esma Cosman had two points.

Ledio’s final jumper gave LCA a 44-38 lead with 48 seconds left, and two Zoe Rockenfeld free throws with 40 seconds left yielded the final margin. The Eagles held off Morgan’s scrambling defense for the win and the right to cut down the nets.

Makayla Williams led Morgan with nine points. Freshman post Leone Mafi scored seven points. Rockenfeld and Kamry Wardell each tallied six points, with Wardell hauling in 14 rebounds. LCA denied Morgan its third state title in the last six seasons.