Sahuaro senior forward Alyssa Brown, historically one of the city’s best players, signed her national letter of intent tonight to play at UNLV.
The signing ceremony was held at Wings Over Broadway at Camino Seco with her family, coach Steve Botkin and friends present.
Brown, 6-foot-1, was the 2019-20 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 in her career. She scored 31.1 points a game last season. She ranks 25th in state history with 2,094 career points.
Brown mentioned she signed with UNLV because of first-year coach Lindy La Rocque and her staff. La Rocque is a former Stanford standout and assistant under Tara VanDerveer.
Exclusive Alyssa Brown @alyssajb_23 signs with @UNLVLadyRebels @_SHSgirlhoops @AllSportsTucson #AZPreps365 pic.twitter.com/E1iyjNax55
— Andy Morales (@AndyMorales8) November 12, 2020
“The coaches were very genuine and honest,” Brown said. “They told me what I needed to work on. They weren’t trying to sugar coat. … They really shared their goals. I felt make my intensity to play basketball and their intensity matched up perfectly.
“(La Rocque) is a very respectful coach. Her energy, talking to her on the phone, is unmatchable. I’m excited to play under her. She is very knowledgeable. She’s every excited on the phone, riled up. That’s the kind of coach I want to play for.”
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.
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 is a student manager at UNLV.
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.
“(Las Vegas) the right city for me to grow as a person and market myself,” Brown said.
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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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon.
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