The toughest Utah high school girls basketball regions so far in the 2016-17 season

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There's a definitely country flavor among the top Utah girls basketball teams at this point of the season.

A large percentage of the state's Top 25 schools in the latest MaxPreps Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard hail from rural areas in the state's small school classifications. Leading the way are a pair of Class 2A powers – North Summit and Emery.

North Summit (12-0) is one of two unbeaten teams remaining in the state. The third-ranked Braves claimed road wins over fellow top 25 teams Morgan, Emery, Carbon and Juab. They have emerged as one of the stronger defensive teams in the state, allowing just 36.7 points per game. Hunter Vernon is the engine that makes the defense go. The 5-foot-9 junior leads Class 2A in rebounds (9.9) and ranks second in steals (4.5).

Emery (12-1) is fourth behind North Summit with a potent offense has helped the Spartans overwhelm most of their opponents. Emery is averaging 59.8 points per game to lead Class 2A in scoring. Megan Jensen leads the offense with 14.1 points per game while Lainee Jensen is the top 3-point shooter in Class 2A with 27 3-pointers in 13 games.

Region 12, which is composed of rural eastern and central Utah schools, is one of three regions with three Top 25 teams. Richfield, Juab and Carbon have combined for 34 wins so far – the most of any group of three ranked teams from the same region. One common thread is all three teams have dynamic playmakers running their offense. Richfield guard Caitlyn Nabity leads Class 3A with 6.0 assists. Juab's Taylie Williams (4.8 assists) ranks second and Carbon guard Lindsey Blanc (3.9 assists) is fourth.

The other two regions with three Top 25 teams both come from Class 4A. Region 7 features top-ranked Alta, Mountain View and Timpview. Region 5 has Box Elder, East and Highland among the Top 25.

Alta (11-0) is the state's other unbeaten team besides North Summit. Mariah Martin and Kemery Martin form one of the state's best backcourts for the Hawks. Kemery Martin leads Alta in scoring with 15.7 points per game and is the team's No. 2 rebounder with 5.6 boards per contest while Mariah Martin leads Class 4A with 6.1 assists per game and is second in steals with 4.5 per game. She is also Alta's No. 2 scorer with 14.6 points per game.

The Hawks have beaten five other Top 25 teams this season, including second-ranked American Fork. Alta averages 72.1 points per game and has won each contest by an average of 21.9 points.


Class 5A
Region 3
Copper Hills (10), Bingham (22)

Region 4
American Fork (2), Riverton (18)

Class 4A
Region 5
Box Elder (6), East (20), Highland (23)

Region 7
Alta (1), Mountain View (13), Timpview (19)

Region 8
Wasatch (12), Springville (21)

Class 3A
Region 9
Desert Hills (8), Cedar (14)

Region 12
Richfield (7), Juab (16), Carbon (17)

Class 2A
Region 16
North Summit (3)

Region 15
Emery (4)

Region 13
Millard (24)

John Coon covers Utah high school sports for MaxPreps. You can contact him at john_coon@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @johncoonsports