Morgan girls hoopsters continue a precipitous slide
Jan 09, 2024 08:12AM ● By Brian Shaw
As games continue to pile up for the Morgan girls basketball team, so do the losses.
It’s a team that lost all five of their starters from last year’s state champion squad, but it’s hard to think that anyone saw this slide coming.
Morgan [1-6] continues to end games slowly as it finds its footing during this preseason. Though it’s too early to know what the Trojans will look like in Feb., their high-pressure defense appears to want to lead to baskets in transition.
The problem the Trojans are having, however, is that the final product or end result is still a work in progress.
On Dec. 5, Morgan traveled to Green Canyon and hung tight through three quarters, trailing by just five points, 29-34.
That’s when the 4A school went on a run to close out the game and send the Trojans back to Morgan with a 40-53 loss.
Abby Titus led the Trojans with eight points in the paint, while Leah Birkeland knocked down two three-point shots and a free throw in the loss to Green Canyon.
Morgan is getting points from all over the place; Ashlyn Noss scored six points down low and Ashley Burt and Eva Birkeland each had five points from the backcourt. But, Kaydence Wardell was held well under her average with four points and so was Keira Brewer [one point].
At North Summit on Dec. 7, the Trojans again stayed within range, trailing by just four points, 29-33, at the break.
The defending champions crept to within three points after three quarters of action, 39-42, buoyed by a season-high 20-point performance from Eva Birkeland, who drained four three-point shots in what would turn out to be an 11-point loss to the 2A consolation champs, 48-59.
Kaydence Wardell knocked down two key three-point jumpers for six points and Keira Brewer got six of her own points in the painted area. Kamry Wardell scored four points, while Leah Birkeland had three. Abby Titus and Audrey Fisher each scored two for the Trojans.
Running on fumes after two games in three days, the Trojans returned back home to take on Wasatch. Morgan fell behind 28-18 at the half and lost 39-66. Abby Titus had a career-high 17 for the Trojans, who also had 10 from Kaydence Wardell.
Morgan next heads to Fremont on Dec. 12 and will come back home Dec. 14 to take on Stansbury. λ
