Raymundo Frasquillo Photo/Gila Herald: Santa Rita players find the path to the basket defended by Wildcats. Morenci defeated the Eagles 62-27 on Jan. 19. The Wildcats host San Tan Charter on Thursday, Jan. 25.
By Raymundo Frasquillo
MORENCI – The Morenci Wildcats host the No. 35 Gilbert San Tan Charter Roadrunners as No. 11 on Thursday, Jan. 25.
Other region pairings the rest of this week (Jan. 25-27) include Santa Rita at Tombstone and Willcox at Bisbee on Friday, Jan. 26.
The non-region pairings have Benson hosting Saint David and Pima hosting Thatcher on Jan. 25, and Pima hosting Scottsdale Christian on Saturday, Jan. 27.
Remaining region games include (Jan. 29-Feb. 3) Santa Rita at Bisbee and Willcox at Pima on Jan. 29, Pima at Benson and Tombstone at Santa Rita on Jan. 31, and Benson at Willcox, Morenci at Bisbee, and Santa Rita at Pima on Feb. 1 plus (Feb. 5-10) Benson at Tombstone, Pima at Morenci, and Santa Rita at Willcox on Feb. 6.
No. 35 San Tan Charter Roadrunners (2-16 overall)
The Mike Cox-coached San Tan Charter Roadrunners (2-16 overall, 1-13 seeding, 0-9 Valley Region for sixth of six) are averaging a 20-48 (365-856) score per game or a 28-point deficit.
San Tan Charter has a seeding win over Santa Rita (50-36, Nov. 30). The losses are to Queen Creek Benjamin Franklin (9-66, Dec. 1), Eloy Santa Cruz (26-31, Dec. 4), Miami (20-40, Dec. 12), San Carlos (16-81, Dec. 15), Gilbert Arete Prep (7-36, Jan. 2), Phoenix Veritas Prep (9-46, Jan. 3), Gilbert Leading Edge (22-52, Jan. 5), Gilbert Classical (13-39, Jan. 8), Miami (13-97, Jan. 11), Surprise Highland Prep (20-40, Jan. 12), San Carlos (12-73, Jan. 16), Arete Prep (22-35, Jan. 19), and Leading Edge (39-58, Jan. 23).
In addition, the Roadrunners went 1-3 during a 2-day tourney attended on Nov. 24-25. The win was over Phoenix Madison Highland Prep (41-7, Nov. 25) while losses were to Chandler Prep (14-36, Nov. 24), Glendale Prep (9-48, Nov. 24), and Glendale Trivium Prep (23-35, Nov. 25).
A 9-member roster includes senior Mya Abbiatti (5); juniors Kyleigh Mason (13) and Kahadeja Sarama (23); and sophomores Jasmyn Dickerson (12), Claire Estadt (14), Elliana Garcia (4), Darina Nunez (2), Alanna Ricks-Williams (20), and Isabella Wega (11).
No. 11 Morenci Wildcats (11-10)
The Albert Ortega-coached Morenci Wildcats (11-10 overall, 9-5 seeding, 8-2 East Region) are averaging a 42-43 (890-905) score per game or a 1-point deficit.
Morenci has seeding wins over Elfrida Valley Union (39-22, Dec. 4), Willcox (50-45, Dec. 6), Tucson Santa Rita (57-23, Dec. 12), Benson (53-41, Dec. 18), Tombstone (53-40, Jan. 5), Bisbee (51-33, Jan. 8), Tombstone (54-44, Jan. 12), Willcox (60-47, Jan. 16), and Santa Rita (62-25, Jan. 19). The losses are to San Carlos (28-61, Nov. 20), Saint David (27-46, Nov. 27), Eagar Round Valley (28-54, Jan. 2), Pima (25-69, Jan. 11), and Benson (43-46, Jan. 23).
Additionally, the Wildcats posted a combined 2-5 record in two 3-day tourneys. They went 1-3 during the Round Valley tourney on Dec. 7-9 and 1-2 during the EAC tourney on Dec. 27-29. The wins were over Heber Mogollon (37-28, Dec. 7) and Valley Union (60-40, Dec. 29) while the losses were to Saint Johns (29-55, Dec. 7), Whiteriver Alchesay (17-59, Dec. 8), Holbrook (46-47, Dec. 8), Saint David (33-35, Dec. 27) and Safford (38-45, Dec. 28).
Morenci has made 45 (163-361) percent of its free throws compared to 50 (133-268) by its combined opponents.
Individually, junior Jayla Wilson (3) has made free throws at a 57 (13-23) percent rate, sophomore Rozlyn Funari (10) at 56 (31-55), senior Elena Leonard (5) at 54 (43-80), senior Aniyah Fallow (14) at 50 (4-8), junior Sway Cordova (1) at 48 (10-21), freshman Tiara Jones (20) at 42 (42-100), freshman Mayeli Salazar (13) at 36 (10-28), sophomore Adriana Carbajal (12) at 31 (8-26), senior Ciantae Dosela (24) at 31 (5-16), sophomore Jaliyah Hernandez (44) 0-2, junior Talia McCabe (1) 0-2, and junior Tayah Wilkes (4) 0-2. Senior Anita Gonzalez (11) has not shot any free throws.
2A East Region Standings
The 2A East Region standings following 30 games through Jan. 23 are Pima (17-4 overall, 11-2 seeding, 8-0 region) first, Morenci (11-10, 9-5, 8-2) second, Benson (14-9, 8-5, 5-4) third, Tombstone (14-11, 8-7, 4-5) fourth, Willcox (8-13*, 6-7, 3-5) fifth, Bisbee (5-13, 3-1, 2-7) sixth, and Tucson Santa Rita (1-16, 1-11, 0-7) seventh.
Pima (8-0) has region wins over Willcox (69-14, Dec. 1), Tombstone (56-33, Dec. 12), Bisbee (67-24, Dec. 15), Santa Rita (57-4, Jan. 8), Benson (72-9, Jan. 19), Morenci (69-25, Jan. 11), Tombstone (62-19, Jan. 19), and Bisbee (67-34, Jan. 23). The No. 3 Roughriders are averaging a 50-30 (1,043-622) score per game or a 20-point margin through 21 games.
Morenci (8-2) has region wins over Willcox (50-45, Dec. 6), Santa Rita (57-43, Dec. 12), Benson (53-41, Dec. 18), Tombstone (53-40, Jan. 5), Bisbee (51-33, Jan. 8), Tombstone (54-44, Jan. 12), Willcox (60-47, Jan. 16), and Santa Rita (62-25, Jan. 19). The No. 11 Wildcats are averaging a 42-43 (890-905) score per game or a 1-point deficit through 21 games.
Benson (5-4) has region wins over Santa Rita (56-8, Dec. 7), Bisbee (49-41, Dec. 12), Tombstone (82-35, Jan. 11), Santa Rita (62-24, Jan. 16), and Morenci (46-43, Jan. 19). The No. 20 Bobcats are averaging a 50-38 (1,158-876) score per game or a 12-point margin through 23 games.
Tombstone (4-5) has region wins over Bisbee (63-31, Dec. 7), Willcox (49-41, Dec. 19), Bisbee (59-41, Jan. 16), and Willcox (53-33, Jan. 23). The No. 15 Yellow Jackets are averaging a 41-39 (1,035-973) score per game or a 2-point margin through 25 games.
Willcox (3-5) has region wins over Tombstone (58-50, Dec. 19), Benson (59-46, Jan. 8), and Santa Rita (57-19, Jan. 11). The No. 26 Cowgirls are averaging a 41-44 (863-930) score per game or a 3-point deficit through 21 games.
Bisbee (2-7) has region wins over Santa Rita (58-16, Jan. 5) and Benson (36-30, Jan. 19). The No. 29 Pumas are averaging a 35-46 (637-834) score per game or an 11-point deficit through 18 games.
The No. 40 Santa Rita Eagles (0-7) are averaging a 22-57 (376-966) score per game or a 35-point deficit through 17 games.
2A State Rankings
The 2A state rankings as of noon on Jan. 24 had 4-6 (.667) teams from both the Metro and Valley Regions in the Top 24, 3-5 (.600) from the Central Region, 4-7 (.571) from the East and North Regions, 3-6 (.500) from the West Region, and 2-6 (.333) from the South Region.
Phoenix Country Day School was No. 1 (8-1 seeding, 19.3410 rating), Miami No. 2 (14-1, 16.5698), Pima No. 3 (11-2, 15.9626), San Carlos No. 4 (13-2, 14.7800), Saint Johns No. 5 (12-3, 13.8454), Glendale Prep No. 6 (9-1, 13.3830), Phoenix Horizon Honors No. 7 (11-2, 12.7039), Bullhead City Mohave Accelerated No. 8 (10-1, 10.7716), Phoenix Arizona Lutheran No. 9 (11-2, 10.2949), and Scottsdale Prep No. 10 (12-3, 6.7001).
Morenci was No. 11 (6-4, 6.8571), Gilbert Leading Edge No. 12 (11-5, 6.1917), Tucson Saint Augustine Catholic No. 13 (12-2, 5. 6931), Eagar Round Valley No. 14 (10-6, 5.5081), Tombstone No. 15 (8-7, 4.3051), Sanders Valley No. 16 (8-7, 3.4394), Flagstaff Northland Prep No. 17 (6-3, 3.4227), Gilbert Classical No. 18 (9-6, 3.1913), Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep No. 19 (7-5, 2.5253), and Benson No. 20 (8-5, 1.4810).
Phoenix Veritas Prep was No. 21 (5-3, 1. 5713), Phoenix Basis No. 22 (7-2, 1.2316), Avondale Saint John Paul II Catholic No. 23 (8-5, 0.8532), and Many Farms No. 24 (10-6, 0.8532).
Initial rankings on Jan. 9 had San Carlos No. 1 (10-1 seeding, 16.3606 rating), Miami No. 2 (9-1, 15.8087), Horizon Honors No. 3 (6-1, 14.3096), Phoenix Country Day No. 4 (4-1, 13.5137), Saint Johns No. 5 (8-2, 12.8585), Pima No. 6 (5-1, 12.6765), Mohave Accelerated No. 7 (8-0, 12.6258), Glendale Prep No. 8 (6-1, 11.0778), Morenci No. 9 (6-3, 7.9531), and Scottsdale Prep was No. 10 (8-1, 7.9307).
Saint Augustine was No. 11 (7-1, 6.7870), Round Valley No. 12 (6-4, 6.3857), Leading Edge No. 13 (8-4, 5.4945), Rancho Solano Prep No. 14 (6-2, 5.1160), Sanders Valley No. 15 (6-4, 4.6699), Gilbert Classical No. 16 (8-4, 4.6347), Tombstone No. 17 (4-4, 4.5384), Arizona Lutheran No. 18 (5-2, 4.4131), Kingman Academy No. 19 (6-1, 4.3404), and Benson No. 20 (5-2, 3.4714).
Willcox was No. 21 (5-5, 2.2527), Veritas Prep No. 22 (5-3, 1.7475), Many Farms No. 23 (7-5, 0.1825), and Saint John Paul II No. 24 (5-4, minus 0.7785).
Benson – 46, Morenci – 43
The visiting Wildcats outscored their host 17-10 in the fourth quarter, forcing a 43-43 tie with eight seconds remaining to play.
Benson inbounded the ball and junior Rylee Deskins connected on a long-distance dial in the closing seconds. The clock reached zero, game over, Bobcats win.
The Bobcats led 8-6 following the first quarter, 17-13 at halftime, and 33-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
Morenci totaled 17 field goals plus 9-15 free throws versus 18 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 5-9 free throws by Benson.
Funari (10) had a season-high 19 points on eight field goals plus 3-3 free throws. Jones (20) added seven points, Cordova (2) and Wilson (3) six apiece, Salazar (13) and Ciantae Dosela (24) had two, and Carbajal (12) one.
For Benson, junior Kaylei Taylor (23) had a game-high 22 points on nine field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 3-3 free throws, and junior Aubrey Moon (24) 10 on four field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 1-4 free throws. Deskins (2) added seven points, senior Irene Hernandez (42), junior Jadalyn De la Cruz (5), and sophomore Paisley Harmon (22) two apiece, and sophomore Jordan Rone (21) one.
Morenci – 62, Santa Rita – 27
The Wildcats scored in double figures during each of the four quarters while the Eagles did so in only one, reaching double figures with 37 seconds elapsed in the second quarter.
Morenci led 13-8 after the first quarter, 31-14 at halftime, and 45-26 heading into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats had a 35-point advantage when the game was called with 1:38 remaining.
The Wildcats totaled 23 field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 14-28 free throws compared to 10 field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 3-8 free throws by the Eagles.
Funari (10) tallied a team-high 15 points on six field goals plus 3-6 free throws, Jones (20) 14 on four field goals plus 6-11 free throws, and Leonard (5) 12 on four field goals (one 3-pointer) plus 3-4 free throws. Dosela (24) added nine points, Fallow (14) four, and Wilson (3), McCabe (1), Carbajal (12), and Salazar (13) two apiece.
For Santa Rita, senior Jayla Braham (11) netted 16 points on six field goals (four 3-pointers) plus 0-2 free throws. Junior Kayiden Taylor (3) added six points, junior Naima Gomez (4) three, and senior Amaris Shay (13) two.
Morenci – 60, Willcox – 47
The Cowgirls led 15-13 following the opening quarter, but the halftime score favored Morenci 27-26. The Wildcats returned from the break with a 26-9 third-quarter effort to lead 53-35 heading into the fourth quarter.
For the game, Morenci connected on 23 field goals (three 3-pointers) plus 11-25 free throws compared to 19 field goals (five 3-pointers) plus 4-12 free throws by Willcox.
Funari (10) totaled a team and game-high 16 points on seven field goals plus 2-4 free throws, Jones (20) 13 on five field goals plus 3-8 free throws, and Leonard (5) 12 on four field goals plus 4-11 free throws. Dosela (24), Wilson (3), and Salazar (13) added five points apiece, Fallow (14) and Carbajal (12) two each.
For Willcox, junior Maddie Bennett (14) had 12 points on six field goals, sophomore Addison Burright (11) 10 on three field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 2-4 free throws, and freshman Paislee Adams (13) 10 on four field goals (two 3-pointers) plus 0-4 free throws. Senior Mia Mungarro (4) added eight points, junior Gabriela Galaz (15) three, and both junior Layla Donahue (10) and sophomore Kennedy Ebert (12) two apiece.
