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For the second time ever, a 5A school has made the Open Division semifinals for girls basketball.
No. 11 Waddell Canyon View handily beat No. 19 Tempe McClintock, 54-26, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 26, becoming the second team from the Arizona Interscholastic Association's second-largest school classification to reach the semifinals after the playoff model was adopted in 2023.
The Open Division brings together the top 32 teams from the 6A-4A conferences into one bracket. It’s only fitting that Canyon View joins the shortlist of schools to do so, as the Jaguars have won the last two 5A state championships and finished as runner-up in 2023.
“It’s great for the culture,” Canyon View coach Desirae Carranza said. “It just shows this group of girls, their work ethic, the heart they’ve put into the program. They’ve stuck together. When you do that, good things happen.”
This was a goal of the Canyon View team from the start.
“The whole year we’ve been trying to set a legacy,” senior forward Jaila Flowers said. “It was a big deal to make it to the Open — and win.”
Canyon View (22-6) led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a commanding 20-2 lead after the first quarter.
Senior guard Azalee Tellez came out firing, draining a long three-pointer at the end to cap off a 10-point quarter.
“She’s also one of our captains, she stepped up really big today,” Flowers said. “It meant a lot. We were trying to get up fast and she helped us.”
Tellez was one of the best players on the court, leading Canyon View with 14 points.
Canyon View led 27-11 at halftime and 43-19 after three quarters. It was a dominant display of defense, one of the best of the entire season. McClintock shot 1 of 22 from 3-point range.
Also leading the way for Canyon View were senior guard Aaliyah Rogers (8 points), Flowers (6 points) and freshman center Annalycia Sandoval (6 points).
Next up for Canyon View is a West Valley foe — No. 2 Goodyear Millennium, the defending Open state champion. Millennium is regarded as one of the premier programs in the state and was the first-ever 5A school to make the Open semifinals, back in 2023.
But Canyon View isn’t worried. There are six players on this year’s roster from the 2024 team that beat Millennium twice, including for the 5A Desert West region title.
“I think all of us are like that,” Flowers said about the team’s lack of fear. “We just know we have to win. For a lot of us, eight of us, it’s our last games, so we’re playing like it’s our last game every time.”
With Canyon View and Millennium both in the semifinals, that means two West Valley schools are in the final four for the second straight season after Millennium and Surprise Valley Vista played in the championship in 2025.
“We’re really proud of that — the Agua Fria district, the programs that we have here in the West Valley — what we’re doing and what we’re building,” Carranza said.
For McClintock (24-4), it is the end of one of the best seasons in recent memory. The team won two playoff games on the road, upsetting No. 3 Tucson Salpointe Catholic.
“They worked hard — illness and sickness, just not focused tonight,” coach Dave Williams said. “We did a great job on the road. That’s a tough team right there, very disciplined. But I love my team. We did a good job.”
It was a tough night offensively for McClintock, which was without one of its leading scorers, senior guard Lamaiya Woodberry. She’s second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game and is considered to be one of the best players in school history. Woodberry was able to gut it out in the first two games of the Open, but missed the Canyon View game due to illness.
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: Canyon View beats McClintock, advances to Open semifinals
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No. 11 Waddell Canyon View handily beat No. 19 Tempe McClintock, 54-26, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 26, becoming the second team from the Arizona Interscholastic Association's second-largest school classification to reach the semifinals after the playoff model was adopted in 2023.
The Open Division brings together the top 32 teams from the 6A-4A conferences into one bracket. It’s only fitting that Canyon View joins the shortlist of schools to do so, as the Jaguars have won the last two 5A state championships and finished as runner-up in 2023.
“It’s great for the culture,” Canyon View coach Desirae Carranza said. “It just shows this group of girls, their work ethic, the heart they’ve put into the program. They’ve stuck together. When you do that, good things happen.”
This was a goal of the Canyon View team from the start.
“The whole year we’ve been trying to set a legacy,” senior forward Jaila Flowers said. “It was a big deal to make it to the Open — and win.”
Canyon View (22-6) led wire-to-wire, jumping out to a commanding 20-2 lead after the first quarter.
Senior guard Azalee Tellez came out firing, draining a long three-pointer at the end to cap off a 10-point quarter.
“She’s also one of our captains, she stepped up really big today,” Flowers said. “It meant a lot. We were trying to get up fast and she helped us.”
Tellez was one of the best players on the court, leading Canyon View with 14 points.
Canyon View led 27-11 at halftime and 43-19 after three quarters. It was a dominant display of defense, one of the best of the entire season. McClintock shot 1 of 22 from 3-point range.
Also leading the way for Canyon View were senior guard Aaliyah Rogers (8 points), Flowers (6 points) and freshman center Annalycia Sandoval (6 points).
Next up for Canyon View is a West Valley foe — No. 2 Goodyear Millennium, the defending Open state champion. Millennium is regarded as one of the premier programs in the state and was the first-ever 5A school to make the Open semifinals, back in 2023.
But Canyon View isn’t worried. There are six players on this year’s roster from the 2024 team that beat Millennium twice, including for the 5A Desert West region title.
“I think all of us are like that,” Flowers said about the team’s lack of fear. “We just know we have to win. For a lot of us, eight of us, it’s our last games, so we’re playing like it’s our last game every time.”
With Canyon View and Millennium both in the semifinals, that means two West Valley schools are in the final four for the second straight season after Millennium and Surprise Valley Vista played in the championship in 2025.
“We’re really proud of that — the Agua Fria district, the programs that we have here in the West Valley — what we’re doing and what we’re building,” Carranza said.
For McClintock (24-4), it is the end of one of the best seasons in recent memory. The team won two playoff games on the road, upsetting No. 3 Tucson Salpointe Catholic.
“They worked hard — illness and sickness, just not focused tonight,” coach Dave Williams said. “We did a great job on the road. That’s a tough team right there, very disciplined. But I love my team. We did a good job.”
It was a tough night offensively for McClintock, which was without one of its leading scorers, senior guard Lamaiya Woodberry. She’s second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game and is considered to be one of the best players in school history. Woodberry was able to gut it out in the first two games of the Open, but missed the Canyon View game due to illness.
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: Canyon View beats McClintock, advances to Open semifinals
Continue reading...
