By Raymundo Frasquillo
THATCHER – The girls’ 48th Eastern Arizona Holiday Tournament begins at four different sites on Thursday, Dec. 19. It has three teams in four pools, beginning at noon and running until 7:30 p.m. Each team plays two games per day.
Pima hosts Pool A, with the Roughriders meeting Globe at noon and El Mirage Dysart at 6 p.m. Globe faces Dysart at 3 p.m.
Thatcher hosts Pool B, with the Eagles meeting Winkelman Hayden at noon and Snowflake at 6 p.m. Hayden faces Snowflake at 3 p.m.
Safford hosts Pool C, with the Bulldogs meeting Saint David at 1:30 p.m. and Glendale Centennial at 7:30 p.m. Saint David faces Centennial at 4:30 p.m.
Eastern Arizona College hosts Pool D, with Morenci meeting Tucson Empire at noon and Fort Thomas at 6 p.m. Fort Thomas faces Empire at 3 p.m.
The top two teams from each pool face one another while the No. 3 teams from each pool meet in a round-robin format on Friday, Dec. 20.
Admission is cashless, with tickets sold exclusively through GoFan. Friday and Saturday has a charge of $10 for a day pass with access to all games at any venue. Saturday admission is $5 per session, the first through 4 p.m. pairings and the second for the championship games beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Guitteau Gymnasium.
Six teams return from the 2023 tourney. Safford (97-42) and Thatcher (94-46) attended the previous 47 meets; Fort Thomas (64-68) and Pima (75-57) both 44 meets; Morenci (61-67) 43 meets, and Saint David (5-4) two meets.
Three teams attended previous meets. Centennial, Dysart, Empire, and Hayden are each first-time participants. A total of 18 teams have attended previous meets.
This tourney marks the first time with 12 teams playing two games per day on four different sites. the third time the boys’ and girls’ meet occurs on the same days and dates, the ninth time the boys’ meet has been held before Christmas, and the 44th year the girls’ tourney is held before Christmas.
47th Eastern Arizona Holiday Tournament Recap
Pima edged Miami 58-56 to capture the 47th Eastern Arizona Holiday Tourney title on Dec. 29. It was the third straight title for the Roughriders, also earning the 2022 and 2021 titles.
The Roughriders topped Thatcher 42-20 in the second round on Dec. 28 and Valley Union 65-13 in the first round on Dec. 27, while Miami qualified for the finale by downing Saint David 62-36 and Safford 51-42.
The 10-2 Roughriders have participated in 44 tourneys with a 75-57 meet record, and Miami (9-3) in seven (7-14). The Roughriders have won the three recent meets plus three others while the Vandals were in their initial finale.
Saint David (14-1) defeated Thatcher (3-9) 54-34 for third place, Fort Thomas (11-6) defeated Safford (3-11) 60-49 for fifth place, and Morenci (6-7) defeated Valley Union (7-11) 60-40 for seventh place
Safford and Fort Thomas advanced in the second round with wins of 45-38 over Morenci and 74-15 over Valley Union, respectively.
The other opening round results were Thatcher 42-36 over Fort Thomas and Saint David 35-33 over Morenci.
47th Eastern Arizona Holiday All-Tourney Team
Meet champion Pima and runner-up Miami both had three players on the 2023 honor team. Pima had senior Leah Llamas and juniors Addison Hoopes and Sadie Richardson. Miami had juniors Leeyah Goss and Savannah Pietila and freshman Tamia Pietila, the most valuable player.
Third place Saint David had juniors Anissa Jacquez and Mayla Trejo, fourth place Thatcher seniors Jade Griffin and Sophie Welker, fifth place Fort Thomas senior Tyesha Wilson, sixth place Safford sophomore Hannah Schade, seventh place Morenci senior Elena Leonard, and eighth place Valley Union senior Kali Prudler.
Jacquez and Trejo were also on the 2022 team, and Jacquez was on the 2021 team.
Tamia Pietila contributed 71 points and averaged 23.7 points per game, Schade (62, 20.7), Wilson (46, 15.3), Trejo (39, 13.0), Hoopes (37, 12.3), Prudler (35, 11.7), Jacquez (34, 11.3), Llamas (32, 10.7), Goss (30, 10.0), Richardson (30, 10.0), Griffin (28, 9.3), Savannah Pietila (28, 9.3), Leonard (23, 7.7), and Welker (12, 4.0).
Championship: Pima – 58, Miami – 56
Miami had a 12-6 first-quarter advantage, but a 19-12 second-quarter outing gave Pima a 25-24 halftime edge. The Vandals returned from the break with a 21-17 effort to head into the third quarter leading 45-42. A 16-11 final 8-minute Pima effort gave the Roughriders the necessary margin for a win.
The game’s sixth tie, the third of the second half, and only one in the fourth quarter of 52-52 with 2:35 remaining was broken by Miami 15 seconds later. However, the 54-52 edge would be short-lived.
Pima senior Lea Llamas drilled a 3-pointer with 1:52 left to put the home team ahead 55-52. Junior Sadie Richardson added a field goal with 1:25 left for a 57-54 advantage, and senior Ella Wiltbank sank 1-2 free throws with 20 seconds left to account for the Roughriders’ total.
Miami countered four seconds into the final minute with sophomore Drianna Dosela’s field goal. It would be the visitors’ final points.
Pima totaled 21 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 12-26 free throws versus 19 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 13-16 free throws by Miami.
Richardson netted 14 points on seven field goals, junior Addison Hoopes 12 on three field goals plus 6-12 free throws, Llamas 12 on five field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 0-2 free throws, and junior Kelsi Brimhall 11 on three field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 4-8 free throws. Senior Ella Wiltbank added six points, and senior Madison Gann three.
Miami freshman Tamia Pietila netted 25 points on seven field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 10-12 free throws, junior Savannah Pietila 13 on four field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 3-4 free throws, and junior Demetria Dosela 11 on five field goals plus 1-2 free throws. Junior Leeyah Goss seven points.
3rd Place: Saint David – 54, Thatcher – 34
Saint David scored in double figures during all four quarters compared to once by Thatcher. The result, the Tigers led 12-6 after the opening quarter, 23-14 at halftime, and 37-25 heading into the fourth quarter.
Saint David made 17 field goals (five 3-pointers) plus 15-27 free throws while Thatcher had 13 field goals plus 8-23 free throws.
Senior Mayla Trejo tossed in a game-high 20 points on six field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 5-6 free throws, senior Anissa Jacquez 12 on three field goals plus 6-7 free throws, and sophomore Emelynn Jacquez 12 on five field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 1-6 free throws. Senior Halee Deskins and freshman Hart both added five points.
Nine scored for Thatcher, with none in double figures. Senior Jade Griffin and junior Sophia Estrada both had six points, junior Cambria Wakefield and sophomore Makenzi Lunt five apiece, senior Emma Green and Hughes three each, juniors Kenady Davis and Audrey Smith along with sophomore Emry Nelson two apiece.
5th Place: Fort Thomas – 60, Safford – 49
Fort Thomas sophomore Adaia Lorenzo dialed long-distance thrice and senior Tyesha Wilson once early in the third quarter en route to a 28-10 outing. It broke a 24-24 halftime deadlock.
Safford never tied or retook the lead in the fourth quarter despite turning in a 17-8 fourth quarter effort, it was nine points short of a tie.
For the game, the Bulldogs connected on 19 field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 11-21 free throws compared to 23 field goals (seven 3-pointers) plus 7-16 free throws by the Apaches.
Sophomore Hannah Schade netted 21 points on eight field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 4-10 free throws, and senior Jaiden Mortensen 14 on five field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 3-3 free throws. Freshman Kenna Macario added seven points, Camilla Smith five, and junior Marley Jurado and freshman Jazz Mortensen each had two.
The Fort got 14 points from senior Tyesha Wilson on seven field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 2-2 free throws and 11 from Lorenzo on four field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 0-2 free throws. Sophomore Kaylee Benally added six points; juniors Raeleigh Hawkins, Tawnee Jones, and Kirah Moses, sophomores Kynnedee Bryce, Corey Cody, and Makayla Chapman four apiece, and freshman Jamie Johnson two.
7th Place: Morenci – 60, Valley Union – 40
The Blue Devils outscored the Wildcats 16-9 in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to offset the 27-point deficit.
Morenci tossed in double-digit scoring in each of the first three quarters, leading 15-8 following the opening quarter, 32-15 at halftime, and 51-24 heading into the final eight minutes.
For the game, Morenci connected on 26 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 4-16 free throws, while Valley Union made 12 field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 11-18 free throws.
Sophomore Adriana Carbajal netted a game and career-high 16 points on eight field goals plus 0-4 free throws. Senior Elena Leonard and junior Kayla Wilson added nine points apiece, sophomore Rozlyn Funari eight, senior Ciantae Dosela seven, junior Sway Cordova six, freshman Mayeli Salazar three, and junior Tayah Wilkes two.
Senior Kali Prudler had 26 points on nine field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 7-12 free throws for Valley Union. Senior Lauren Cabral added five points, junior Lexi Boss four, Valdez three, and Cox two.
Prudler’s 26 points tied the offensive efforts of 12 previous participants scoring that amount during the prior 46 meets. The first to reach that amount was Morenci’s Dodo Chavez during the 1977 (2nd) tourney in a 51-53 semifinal loss to Round Valley.
