It was essentially a new season for Layton Christian after the new year.
Coming off of a 31-point loss to the Alta Hawks in the last game of 2025, LCA coach Jarrod Hoagland resigned, and school administration turned to Mark Burton as his replacement.
And did he deliver.
On Saturday, the Eagles won the girls 3A state championship, getting past Morgan 44-40 in the title game.
”I told the girls the dream is the same. Listen, and let me get you there, game by game,“ Burton said. “Believe in me and we are limitless.”
It was not an easy battle for the Eagles on Saturday. The Trojans, who are not strangers to the championship stage, led by seven at halftime thanks to a balanced attack.
While Morgan was balanced, Zoe Rockenfield and Makayla Williams were limited, finishing with just 15 combined points despite averaging 32 per game together.
“We know that those two players are their muscle, and in order for us to win we had to shut that engine off,” Burton said.
“We adjusted to a 1-4 box to take Rockenfield off her game, and then we changed that to Williams, and after we did that we were able to control the game.”
Coming out of halftime trailing 20-13, things started to turn in LCA’s favor. In addition to the good defense, the Eagles started to have more success offensively in the third quarter, as they shot 40% during the frame and outscored the Trojans 17-8 to take a 30-28 lead into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was a continuation of the ending of the third, as LCA went on what ended up being a 17-3 run. Morgan went on a 6-0 run to stick around, but Ava Smith made a big 3 to put the Eagles back up by eight and the Trojans couldn’t rally all the way back.
“It feels amazing, I’m not going to lie,” Smith said. “We’ve been working for this. We’ve been saying this since the day we started the season that this was our goal.
“It means so much to all of us and we’re all so happy. This is my senior year and this has been the most special season for me and I’m so grateful for everything.”
3A Girls All-Tournament Team
MVP: Ava Smith, LCA
Zoe Rockenfield, Morgan
Makayla Williams, Morgan
Fabiana Lopez, LCA
Madison Eliason, Delta
Mariah Schlappi, North Sanpete