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Gilbert Perry continued its stellar season under first-year coach Darren Fenn with a huge win over Chandler Hamilton in a potential playoff preview, while Goodyear Millennium took down Surprise Valley Vista in a rematch of last year’s Open title game.
Waddell Canyon View is surging at the right time, reminding everybody they are not to be forgotten, and Tucson Salpointe Catholic continues to stack up wins in what is supposed to be a rebuilding year.
There were standout performances and statements in Arizona girls' high school basketball during the week of Feb. 2-7. The Arizona Republic rewinds the week and looks ahead as we head down the final stretch of the season.
When Perry coach Andrew Curtis departed for an assistant position with BYU, there were questions surrounding the Pumas heading into the season.
The team was coming off a tough 15-13 season, plagued by injuries. Then came in new hire Darren Fenn, from New York. Fenn, a former overseas professional basketball player, has quickly made his imprint on the team since being hired.
The Pumas are 21-2, undefeated against Arizona competition, and are coming off a massive 76-61 win over Hamilton, the defending 6A state champions. That game showed Perry is one of the true threats to win the Open title, if people didn’t believe it before. Having seniors Bella Burcar and Novelle McQuiston back from injury has been a huge boost for Perry.
Meanwhile, Millennium is now 7-0 since the wake-up call loss to Hamilton. Millennium started the week with a dramatic 42-40 win over Surprise Valley Vista in a rematch of the 2025 Open title game and remains in the driver’s seat for the top seed in this year’s playoffs.
Valley Vista should still be considered a contender, though. Once 6-foot-1 forward Deja Strong returns from injury soon, this will be a hard lineup to stop.
More: Vote for the top 10 Arizona HS girls basketball teams of Week 12
After watching Gilbert Campo Verde rise up the rankings and get a lot of attention with star freshman Jaiyana Bogan-Jacobs, Canyon View is making sure it is kept in the conversation when it comes to state titles.
Canyon View handily beat Campo Verde 67-52, by far the biggest loss of the season for the Coyotes, to grab the spotlight. The Jaguars are peaking when it matters the most.
And this is a team and coach that knows what it takes to win. The two-time defending 5A state champions are now 12-0 over the past month and look dangerous heading into the playoffs.
After graduating eight seniors from last year’s roster, which earned the No. 1 seed in the Open out of 4A, coach Joe Luevano wasn’t sure what to expect. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year, with five freshmen and 10 underclassmen in total. But there is no rebuilding — Salpointe keeps winning.
At 24-3, Salpointe is tied for the most overall big-school wins in the state. The Lancers look set to receive another high seed in the Open this year (currently No. 4), as Luevano’s request for a hard schedule is paying off with a 25.7159 power rating from the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
More: Vote, top Arizona high school girls basketball players, Feb. 2-7.
A quick check-in on the all-time Arizona scoring record.
Tucson Pueblo senior America Cazares was at 2,718 points at this time last week, just off the record of 2,913. Since then? She dropped 48 points in a 73-27 win over Sierra Vista Buena and 35 points in a 70-56 win over Tucson Flowing Wells.
Now, Cazares is only 113 points away from breaking the state record (as of Feb. 9) held by Tucson Sahuaro’s Alyssa Brown.
With six to seven games potentially left on the schedule, including playoffs, Cazares is well ahead of the average she needs (16 points per game) to break the record. Cazares is currently averaging 33.7 points per game.
Barring an injury, it is looking increasingly likely that the state will have a new all-time leading scorer soon.
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What we learned in Arizona high school girls basketball this week
Continue reading...
Waddell Canyon View is surging at the right time, reminding everybody they are not to be forgotten, and Tucson Salpointe Catholic continues to stack up wins in what is supposed to be a rebuilding year.
There were standout performances and statements in Arizona girls' high school basketball during the week of Feb. 2-7. The Arizona Republic rewinds the week and looks ahead as we head down the final stretch of the season.
What we learned
When Perry coach Andrew Curtis departed for an assistant position with BYU, there were questions surrounding the Pumas heading into the season.
The team was coming off a tough 15-13 season, plagued by injuries. Then came in new hire Darren Fenn, from New York. Fenn, a former overseas professional basketball player, has quickly made his imprint on the team since being hired.
The Pumas are 21-2, undefeated against Arizona competition, and are coming off a massive 76-61 win over Hamilton, the defending 6A state champions. That game showed Perry is one of the true threats to win the Open title, if people didn’t believe it before. Having seniors Bella Burcar and Novelle McQuiston back from injury has been a huge boost for Perry.
Meanwhile, Millennium is now 7-0 since the wake-up call loss to Hamilton. Millennium started the week with a dramatic 42-40 win over Surprise Valley Vista in a rematch of the 2025 Open title game and remains in the driver’s seat for the top seed in this year’s playoffs.
Valley Vista should still be considered a contender, though. Once 6-foot-1 forward Deja Strong returns from injury soon, this will be a hard lineup to stop.
More: Vote for the top 10 Arizona HS girls basketball teams of Week 12
Canyon View says, ‘Hey, what about us?’
After watching Gilbert Campo Verde rise up the rankings and get a lot of attention with star freshman Jaiyana Bogan-Jacobs, Canyon View is making sure it is kept in the conversation when it comes to state titles.
Canyon View handily beat Campo Verde 67-52, by far the biggest loss of the season for the Coyotes, to grab the spotlight. The Jaguars are peaking when it matters the most.
And this is a team and coach that knows what it takes to win. The two-time defending 5A state champions are now 12-0 over the past month and look dangerous heading into the playoffs.
Salpointe stacking up wins despite youth
After graduating eight seniors from last year’s roster, which earned the No. 1 seed in the Open out of 4A, coach Joe Luevano wasn’t sure what to expect. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year, with five freshmen and 10 underclassmen in total. But there is no rebuilding — Salpointe keeps winning.
At 24-3, Salpointe is tied for the most overall big-school wins in the state. The Lancers look set to receive another high seed in the Open this year (currently No. 4), as Luevano’s request for a hard schedule is paying off with a 25.7159 power rating from the Arizona Interscholastic Association.
More: Vote, top Arizona high school girls basketball players, Feb. 2-7.
Record update: Cazares moves closer
A quick check-in on the all-time Arizona scoring record.
Tucson Pueblo senior America Cazares was at 2,718 points at this time last week, just off the record of 2,913. Since then? She dropped 48 points in a 73-27 win over Sierra Vista Buena and 35 points in a 70-56 win over Tucson Flowing Wells.
Now, Cazares is only 113 points away from breaking the state record (as of Feb. 9) held by Tucson Sahuaro’s Alyssa Brown.
With six to seven games potentially left on the schedule, including playoffs, Cazares is well ahead of the average she needs (16 points per game) to break the record. Cazares is currently averaging 33.7 points per game.
Barring an injury, it is looking increasingly likely that the state will have a new all-time leading scorer soon.
Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, college and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at [email protected] or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What we learned in Arizona high school girls basketball this week
Continue reading...
