This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

On graduation day for the Layton High Class of 2016 last spring, Livia Borges was there to take pictures of her friends dressed in cap and gown. A number of these friends had been on the Layton basketball team, so this was no ordinary group.

The Lancers, a couple of months before, had completed a perfect 25-0 season by winning the Class 5A state championship. Borges was literally the junior member of a crew of seniors at the heart of the run.

"All of them were my best friends. We got along so well and we hung outside of practice in everyday life," Borges said. "We were all super-close and I knew they had a lot of basketball experience, so I could count on them on almost anything. On the court, I was comfortable with them, I could trust them.

"It made me cry," she added of graduation day. "I was so sad. It was watching my best friends leave; now they're up in Washington, Hailey [Bassett, Layton's star player] is at Utah State. They're just so far away from me now."

Now it's Borges who is the prime returnee for the Lancers, but the 5-foot-11 senior has skills on the court. When she swings her tassel in May, the next stop will be the University of Utah, where Borges has committed to play for the Utes women's soccer team next year.

Borges plays soccer year-round, which is the reason that she's known to friends as 'Lulu' rather than Livia. As she tells it, another player on a soccer team in her youth was named Lydia and the confusion caused her to go to something that evolved from her grandfather.

"He used to say, 'Live-a live-a lulu, I love-a love-a you you.' Then my mom really liked the name and it just kind of turned into Lulu," she said.

Layton girls basketball coach Van Price says Borges does a good job concentrating on hoops when she's away from the soccer pitch. And the Lancers are going to need her involvement; not only is she a leader for Layton on the court, the team has already experienced something it hadn't in over a year: A loss, after Clearfield beat the Lancers 45-39 on Tuesday.

"She really gives us her all during basketball season. She's a great defender and she can create things and make things happen - she was really key to us winning state last year," Price said.

"She's got a different role now. She's a facilitator, she's got to score and lead and that's something different for her," the Layton coach added. —

Classification previews

Class 5A • With all Layton lost from its undefeated state championship team, others are ready to fill the void. Copper Hills returns senior Kate Sisler and go deep into the bench. State runner-up Sky View is in the mix with 6-footer Hunter Krebs, who can post up or hit from beyond the arc. At American Fork, the Cavemen bring back double-digit scorer Taylor Moeaki along with fellow senior Paige Farnsworth. Bingham has senior Sierra McNicol and sophomore Journey Tupea after the graduation of Madison Loftus. Region 4 members Pleasant Grove and Riverton figure to challenge American Fork, while Clearfield might now be a prime candidate to vie with Sky View at the top of Region 1.

Class 4A • Defending state champion Bountiful will look to offset Kennedy Redding's departure with 6-footer Mary Larson in the paint, but may need to be more reliant on perimeter players such as junior Jaimee Stahle. The Martin sisters — senior Mariah and sophomore Kemery — are primed to take Alta further than its semifinal appearance last season. Skyline appears ready to return to the championship game after a one-year absence as the Eagles have senior Hannah Anderl, junior Madison Grange and senior Sarah Hoskins leading the way. Salem Hills eliminated Skyline in last year's state tournament but have numerous graduation losses to overcome, so look for teams such as Mountain View or Highland to step into the challenger level.

Class 3A • The strength of defending champion Snow Canyon is near the basket, as juniors Melenaite Kata and Allie Parr head a young core that only has two seniors. State runner-up Cedar returns 5-10 juniors Dream Weaver and Carley Davis. Lindsey Blanc was the leading scorer for Carbon, which fell by a point to Cedar in last season's state semis, and she's back for the Dinos along with Taylor Passarella and Cyene Bigelow. Richfield, after losing in the quarterfinals to Snow Canyon last season, returns all of its leading scorers in Emma Jones, Shandi Bastian and Madisyn Daniels.

Class 2A • Like it did in volleyball, North Summit might be the team to displace defending champion Delta at the top as the Braves return scorers in Ashlin Blonquist, Brena Richins and Madi Birk as well as Hunter Vernon, who missed all of last season due to an ACL injury. North Sevier, who fell to Delta in last season's title game, is rich in returning offense as starters Peyton Torgerson, Hailey Higgs and Meisha Johnson all come back. Emery, Millard and Summit Academy all advanced past the first round of the playoffs last season, but each team suffered significant losses to graduation. The next in line might be Enterprise, which is led by Halle and Lacy Drake as well as Tori Phelps.

Class 1A • Panguitch will have to make do after standout seniors Chesney Campbell, Whittni Orton and Taylor Bennett all graduated. For the 'Cats, 5-foot-5 senior Brieann Birch comes back after averaging 9 points per game last season. Monticello, Bryce Valley and Duchesne were part of the final four last season with Panguitch and it may be Monticello that stands the best chance of knocking off the Bobcats. The Buckaroos have experience in Atlanta Black, Allie Maughan and Izabell Slade, although Panguitch beat Monticello in the first game of the regular season. Bryce Valley also scored an impressive early-campaign win by defeating Rich, and the Mustangs are led by junior Danielle Brinkerhoff and Samantha Chynoweth.