LAYTON — Northridge High returns the size and talent head girls basketball coach Chris Smith is looking for, but questions linger up top as the longtime coach embarks on his 13th season in charge.

On the cusp of 100 career wins, Smith’s becoming something of a trusted name around the game. He’s surrounded himself with two former college hoopers on staff in Stephanie Hale (Weber State) and Larryn Brooks (Texas Tech, Indiana and Weber State).

Northridge made an early exit from last year’s 5A state tournament, falling to Box Elder 54-32 in the second round to finish the campaign 13-12 (7-7 Region 5). Gone from that team are three senior leaders, including leading scorer and starting point guard Kaylee Hess.

With tryouts approaching, Smith had a strong idea of the pieces Northridge returns inside and a not-so-clear illustration of who’ll end up around the arc.

Inside, the Knights benefit from returning senior Karlee Mayfield at the 4 and 5. As a junior, Mayfield led Region 5 with 10.2 rebounds per game as an undersized post. Smith expects returning seniors Izabel Kap (7.4 rpg) and Lilly Gilbert (1.6 rpg) to pick up the slack on the boards.

Smith stressed his intention of “stretching (players) outside their limits” to allow for the absence of a proven presence at guard. Northridge introduced eight freshmen guards to the roster last season, so Smith and company hope to build upon Year 1 progress.

Among those experienced returning candidates are sophomores Rachel Mower (3.5 ppg) and Abbi Frost. Smith didn’t reveal any leading candidates for the wing but revealed his pleasure with the team’s June scrimmages and fall leagues.

“I think there are some things where we’ll have to experiment,” Smith said. “We’ve had some new guards over the summer that were there and we thought might’ve panned out. … But I’d say our priority number one is honing in on our defense.”

Smith considers defense a top priority and “non-negotiable” heading into his first official week of practices. The rest of November will be dedicated to scheming for three preseason Region 1 tests against Syracuse (Nov. 26), Fremont (Dec. 10) and Farmington (Dec. 20).

Discussing Region 5, Smith listed Bountiful, Clearfield, Box Elder and Roy as key programs on his radar. Northridge opens region play at Clearfield on Dec. 31.

“There’s a lot of teams in our region that I’d say are very balanced,” Smith said. “But you’ll have a couple of outliers with a few teams that’re just really, really talented.”

The Knights open the season with five consecutive home dates, beginning with Syracuse on Nov. 26.

Connect with prep sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.