Sahuaro senior Alyssa Brown announced her commitment to play for UNLV.
“I choose UNLV because I felt they gave me the best opportunity to grow as a player,” Brown told AllSportsTucson. “I felt it was the best fit personally and had what I was looking for in a college – location, program and major. I have a great relationship with the coaching staff! Overall, it will give me the best head start after college.”
Brown also had offers from Colorado, Houston, UTEP, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, Grand Canyon, NAU, Elon, St. John’s, Bethune-Cookman, Long Island U., Hampton and Maryland-Baltimore County. She also had interest from Princeton, Pepperdine, New Mexico, Nevada, Washington State and TCU.
“It’s been amazing to watch Lyss grow into this independent woman and to be able to make this choice on her own,” her parents told AllSportsTucson. “We told her to follow her heart on where she wanted to go to school and continue her basketball career and it was ultimately to UNLV. This has been a long journey and dream of her’s to compete at a DI level, We are so proud of all the opportunities that’s she earned throughout this journey. We are excited for her new chapter in life to begin.”
Brown (6-1) was the 2019 Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year after scoring a single-season scoring record of 932 points to help lead Sahuaro to the 4A state championship game and a 28-2 record.
Brown averages 23.8 points a game with 8.4 rebounds. She poured in 31.1 points an outing last year which will surely push her up the career scoring list for Arizona. She is currently 25th on that list with 2,094 career points.
Brown was also named MaxPreps Player of the Year, she was an All-State selection as a sophomore and she is was also the AllSportsTucson Southern Arizona Player of the Year.
Former Canyon del Oro standout Tianna Carter plays for the Rebels and former Marana and Pima standout Alyssa Perez signed on to be a student manager with the program.
Brown’s grandfather, Gene Moore, played basketball for the University of Arizona. Her mother, Lisa Moore, played basketball for Tucson High and her father, Alawnzo Brown, played basketball and football at Canyon del Oro.
“It’s (Las Vegas) the right city for me to grow as a person and market myself,” Brown added.
Her distant cousin, A’ja Wilson, was the No. 1 draft choice of the Las Vegas Aces and she was the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2018. Wilson led South Carolina to an NCAA championship in 2017 and she was named the NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
SOUTHERN ARIZONA CAREER SCORING LEADERS
1 Julie Brase, Catalina Foothills (2,913) 1994-1998
2 Alexis Cortez, Tucson (2,479) 2012-2016
3 Olivia Snyder, Green Fields (2,382) 2009-2013
4 Sydni Stallworth, Palo Verde (2,182) 2011-2015
5 Shawn Coder, Willcox (2,162) 1986-1990
6 Alyssa Brown, Sahuaro (2,094) 2017-Present
7 Paula Pyers, Santa Rita (2,082) 1980-1984
8 Taneisha Gossett, Flowing Wells (2,043) 1990-1994
ARIZONA CAREER SCORING LEADERS
1 Julie Brase, Catalina Foothills (2,913) 1994-1998
2 Kayla Pedersen, Red Mountain (2,611) 2003-2007
3 Christina Wirth, Seton Catholic (2,550) 2001-2005
4 Ashley Wirtzberger, Yuma Catholic/Gila Bend (2,505) 2006-2010
5 Alexis Cortez, Tucson (2,479) 2012-2016
6 Nicole Powell, Mountain Pointe (2,478) 1996-2000
7 Shaylee Gonzales, Mesquite (2,385) 2014-2018
8 Olivia Snyder, Green Fields (2,382) 2009-2013
9 Alyssa Wahl, Cibola (2,366) 1999-2003
10 Wendy Woudenberg, Scottsdale Christian (2,295) 2001-2005
11 Haley Cavinder, Gilbert (2,282) 2016-2019
12 Marie Folsom, Corona del Sol (2,270) 1990-1994
13 Desirae Gonzalez, Kingman (2,255) 2012-2016
14 Brooke Jackson, Mesa Mountain View (2,250) 2003-2007
15 Lindsey VanAllen, Mesquite (2,249) 2014-2018
16 Janae Gonzales, Sierra Linda (2,204) 2014-2018
17 Hanna Cavinder, Gilbert (2,191) 2016-2019
18 Dymond Simon, St. Mary’s (2,189) 2002-2006
19 Sydni Stallworth, Palo Verde (2,182) 2011-2015
20 Shawn Coder, Willcox (2,162) 1986-1990
21 Amy Showers, Camp Verde (2,161) 2001-2005
22 Bryce Nixon, Arcadia (2,122) 2014-2018
23 Najiyyah Pack, South Mountain (2,119) 2012-2016
24 Sonia Bribiescas, Superior (2,109) 1984-1988
25 Alyssa Brown, Sahuaro (2,094) 2017-Present
26 Paula Pyers, Santa Rita (2,082) 1980-1984
27 Theresa Wirth, Seton Catholic (2,080) 2007-2010
28 Kalie Matthes, O’Connor (2,068) 2008-2012
29 Camille Zimmerman, Tempe Prep (2,054) 2010-2014
30 Taneisha Gossett, Flowing Wells (2,043) 1990-1994
31 Taylor Chavez, Valley Vista (2,012) 2014-2018
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014, he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017, a 2019 AZ Education News award winner and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. He was the first in Arizona to write about high school beach volleyball and high school girls wrestling. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here and on AZPreps365.com. Andy is the Southern Arizona voting member of the Ed Doherty Award, recognizing the top football player in Arizona, and he was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Andy was named an Honorary Flowing Wells Caballero in 2019 and he is a member of the Amphi COVID-19 Blue Ribbon Committee. Contact Andy Morales at amoralesmytucson@yahoo.com
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