‘Play me’: Under the weather, Ava Smith powers LCA girls over Ogden in heated rematch
Australian scores 11 second-half points to give Eagles another one-possession win over Tigers
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- Layton Christian’s Fabina Lopez, front, drives past Ogden High’s Hazel Nadolski, back, during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Taylor Duke, left, and Layton Christian’s Sarah Ledio, right, scrap it out during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Salote Tonga, defended by Layton Christian’s Ava Smith, right, looks for an open pass during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Layton Christian’s Fabina Lopez, defended by Ogden High’s Ashley Davis, looks for an open pass during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High’s Taylor Duke lines up a 3-point try during a region girls basketball contest against Layton Christian on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Layton Christian’s Sarah Ledio, left, talks with her teammate, Fabina Lopez, right, during a girls basketball contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
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- Ogden High coach Andy Blodgett, standing, talks with Salote Tonga during a region girls basketball contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at Ogden High School in Ogden.
OGDEN — By the second half, Layton Christian senior Ava Smith told interim coach Mark Burton to do away with her minutes restriction.
Smith spent five days laid up in bed with the flu and a sinus infection, and was probable, at best, entering Thursday’s rematch with Ogden on the road. But in a tie game with under two minutes to go, the Australian wanted back in the game.
Ogden freshman Kaydree Crowther’s first and only field goal, a short-range lob tying the contest at 33, put LCA on the spot with 14 seconds left. Smith, housing 11 points entirely in the second half, drew a whistle against Salote Tonga and made the go-ahead free throw.
“I told myself I need to lock in if we’re going to win this game,” Smith said. “I said to coach, ‘play me.’ Don’t sit me on the bench and I’ll give you what you want, and I think I did.”
The game’s final possession saw Ogden go for the win on a Megan Beus jumper, which missed, and the Eagles flew off with a second one-possession win over the Tigers, 34-33, on Thursday. LCA evaded Ogden in double-overtime earlier this month in Burton’s first game as acting coach.
Both defenses came prepared, but Ogden (9-10, 2-4 Region 12) let too many possessions slip away in the second half to make an honest run. LCA (10-8, 4-2), holding the Tigers to just four points in the third quarter, led by just six atop the fourth quarter.
It’s the failure to finish basketball games that irks Ogden coach Andy Blodgett the most.
“I’m sick of fun games,” Blodgett said. “It was entertaining, but we need to take care of business and do our job. We know who we are and we have the motivation.”
Smith’s late-game heroics followed a 6-0 Ogden run between Beus (two points), Lauretta Taukiuvea (eight points), and Jill Wood (four points) with 5:41 to play. Ogden, slowing up from the field, sent LCA to the free-throw line three times in the final frame.
Tonga (seven points), Crowther (two points), Hazel Nadolski (six points) and Juliet Knowles (four points) all made fourth-quarter contributions, whether from the field or at the free-throw line. Even with an uptick from the floor, Blodgett left entirely dissatisfied with his team’s turnover rate, given their experience.
“We have to be able to use our size and physicality to benefit us,” Blodgett said. “They’re trying to speed us up (and) we’ve just got play calm basketball. Our turnovers hurt us, and we could’ve easily gotten to 50 (points), which is our goal.”
With six points in the third quarter, Smith added another short-range two and three more free throws in the fourth quarter for a 5-of-6 finish at the stripe. Blodgett, recalling the final possession, couldn’t help but wonder if a timeout would’ve given Ogden another look.
“Credit to her,” Blodgett said of Smith. “She buried one and it was our turn to go down, we trusted it to Megan but I could’ve called a timeout. If it’d gone in, I would’ve been a genius. If I’d called a timeout? I don’t know.”
Coughing up a second region loss to the Eagles, Ogden adds its third loss of the month and second straight following a 49-42 defeat at Morgan on Tuesday.
Conversely, LCA snaps a two-game skid with Thursday’s road win, and now turns toward a chance to close the month with three straight wins on a visit to Ben Lomond (Jan. 27) and playing Logan at home (Jan. 29).
Ogden next travels to Logan on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.
