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Right as the top contenders in Class 5A girls basketball are starting to think about the state tournament, here comes a familiar foe from a year ago.

Most of the faces may have changed, but the Layton Lancers are still the defending champs. And, behind an all-around performance from a senior who moved to Utah from Arkansas about a year ago, the Lancers showed they are still a force to be reckoned with after beating Viewmont 49-41 on Tuesday.

Rachel Odima, a 6-foot-1 forward for Layton (15-4, 9-1), scored 13 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the Lancers are in first place in Region 2.

When Odima wasn't scoring or cleaning the glass, she was dishing out assists. Seven times, Odima found teammates for easy buckets.

"I love [the offense]. I love Abbie Smith, that I can just lob it to her. I love Meg Edwards, because she just gets the little garbage passes and gets those steals," said Odima of the 5-foot-7 sophomore, who often battled under the basket against the taller Vikings.

Viewmont (17-3, 9-2), which was led by Mercedes Staples' 25 points, led 31-30 near the end of the third quarter on a Staples basket. But the taller Smith, a 6-foot-3 senior, came off the bench and scored on a Odima feed with two seconds left in the quarter as Layton retook the lead.

The momentum carried to the fourth, as the Vikings didn't score until 2:42 remained in the game. In the meantime, Odima had hit a pair of free throws before she found Smith with another assist to spark an 11-0 run. Smith tallied six points in that stretch as Layton peeled away for a 43-31 lead.

Livia Borges, the only returning regular off last year's title squad, scored 10 points while Smith also finished with 10 points. Megan Carr had 10 points for Viewmont.

"It's huge. This is the time when you want to start playing some good basketball," Layton coach Van Price said. "To come over here and beat a really good Viewmont team on their home floor, it's awesome.

"(Staples) still got points, still did a log of things," Price added. "But when it was needed from her at the end, she didn't have an answer because we played really good defense on her." —

Layton 49, Viewmont 41

R Layton grabs a half-game lead at the top of Region 2 by pulling away with a 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter.

• Lancers senior Rachel Odima has 13 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots.

• Mercedes Staples scores 25 points for Viewmont.