Arizona girls' high school basketball 6A playoffs preview
With the inaugural Open Division in Arizona girls’ high school basketball whittled down to eight teams, the state’s other brackets are now set. Ahead of Wednesday’s round of 16 matchups, the Republic breaks down the landscape in 6A.
The favorite
Hamilton is the No. 1 seed for a reason. The Huskies spent most of the season inside the top five of the Super 10, but just couldn’t quite come through against the best teams in the state. That earned them the No. 9 seed in the Open, where they blew a halftime lead to fall, 49-45, to No. 8 Salpointe Catholic.
Still, they’re the best team in this field. Wins over Seton Catholic and Millennium prove as much. Every team in the 6A field is flawed — otherwise they would be in the Open — but Hamilton can beat you on both ends of the court, has a high-level scorer in junior Savanna Creal and gets at least 9.7 points per game from three players.
The contenders
As the No. 5 seed, Valley Vista should perhaps be in the ‘Underdogs to watch’ section. But the Monsoon may well be the second best team in this field.
After five championships in six years, Valley Vista lost its top three scorers off last year’s team, including Player of the Year Jennah Isai. That set the course for a disastrous December, when they dropped five straight games and looked uncompetitive in blowout losses to La Jolla Country Day (Calif.) and Millennium. Since then, though, they’ve steadied the ship, pushing No. 1 Desert Vista in both the regular season and in the Open Round of 16. Olivia Arvallo and Emma Dasovich are a 1-2 punch that can compete with anyone. So don’t be surprised if the Monsoon pick up a sixth title, even if this one wouldn’t carry the same prestige with the advent of the Open.
Elsewhere, No. 2 seed Sandra Day O’Connor is the exact type of team that will benefit from the creation of the Open. The Eagles are 0-5 against teams still in the Open this season but 16-0 against all other Arizona schools. They’ve got depth (all five starters average at least 6.7 points) but no superstars. In years past, they would’ve likely lost in the 6A quarters or semis. Now, they have a shot at hardware.
Underdogs to watch
It’s hard not to like No. 8 seed Boulder Creek. The Jaguars’ resume isn’t the best — they're the No. 8 seed for a reason — but senior Madelynn Muniz is one of the best players in the state, scoring 21.5 points per game. She’s the type of player that can carry a team through a bracket. And it’s not just her. Abby Dean and Joslyn Baumgartner average 12.5 and 9.3, respectively. The question is whether the Jaguars can get that scoring against high-level opposition. In their last three losses (O’Connor, Pinnacle and Millennium), they’ve averaged 32 points per game.
No. 6 seed Mountain Ridge, on the other hand, has proven that it can beat excellent teams. The Mountain Lions have been inconsistent and are riding a three-game losing streak, but they’ve also beaten Pinnacle (which is still alive in the Open) and Hamilton.
The top players
As the fourth highest scorer in 6A and the highest scorer in the bracket, Muniz is the clear name to watch for. Not many players have the capability to go off for 30 points, which Muniz has done four times this year.
Among aforementioned players, Creal and Arvallo are also noteworthy. Ashiian Hunter from No. 4 seed Mesa is another who could carry her team all the way to a title. She hasn’t been as efficient as she was last year when she was named to the All-Arizona team, but she’s still averaging 18.7 points per game. In that same matchup, No. 13 seed Cibola’s Sierra Bomhower has followed the opposite trend. She’s averaging 17.8 points per game, up from 13.1 a year ago.
Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and the Arizona Diamondbacks. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona girls' high school basketball 6A playoffs preview
