Morgan girls hoops scores first win of the season at the Winter Classic

For the Morgan Trojans, winning games is commonplace. 

But, the way the 3A champion Trojans have started this season under head coach Sterling Mack has looked a bit different. 

Morgan lost its first two games by 30-plus points [29-75 to Ridgeline Nov. 20 and 22-57 on Nov. 28 at Bountiful]. Then, the Trojans lost 38-51 to Sky View Nov. 30 and were looking at their first three-game losing streak since the 2020-21 season when they finished third at state. 

Nobody knows what this Morgan team will look like in a few months, but one thing is clear: Kaydence Wardell will lead a deep rotation of scrappy guards. On one play in the first quarter, the 5-foot-6 guard muscled her way through a halfcourt trap set by 4A Mountain Crest on Dec. 1 in the opening game of the Morgan Winter Classic and helped set the tone for how the Trojans want to play. 

The combination of a suffocating full-court trap by quick guards and balanced scoring led to a heck of a fight from a Trojans offensive led by Kaydence and Keira Brewer, who each scored eight points in the 40-51 loss to Mountain Crest. 

The next night would see Morgan [1-4] record its first win of the season in a 58-18 win over Timpanogos, Dec. 2. On this final night of the Winter Classic, junior Eva Birkeland led the Trojans with 12 and senior Audrey Fisher 11. Flirting all night long with a triple-double, Kaydence Wardell scored all of 10 of her points in the first half to go with feistier defense from this trio of guards. 

Down low, Abby Titus had eight points and Leah Birkeland eight while Brewer tipped in six. In this game played in the main gym, the Trojans stormed out to a 29-9 halftime lead and never looked back. 

The Trojan girls will be at Green Canyon [Dec. 5] and North Summit [Dec. 7] and will be home on Dec. 8 to take on Wasatch. 

Boys record first win under new head coach 

As for the Morgan Trojans boys basketball team, they’re also involved in a holiday tournament—the difference is that it’s down south at the Sevier Valley Center. 

At the 2A/3A/4A Preview, the Trojans got their first victory under new head coach Scott Hunt on Saturday, Dec. 2, winning their final game of that tournament 58-46 over Richfield. 

Bracken Saunders led the way for Morgan [1-4] with 21 points, while Lincoln Gilson chipped in 11. Mason Williams had 10 and Kolton Asay five in the victory. 

Morgan will continue to play games on the road this week with games at American Heritage [Dec. 6] and at Emery on Dec. 8. λ