The eight-team Gold Championship Bracket of Sunnyside’s Third Annual Inferno Invitational is set with the host Blue Devils among the group of programs in that field.
Sunnyside and Sahuaro, both of which went 2-0 in the first day of the invitational on Monday, will face each other in the Gold Championship quarterfinals on Tuesday at 1 p.m.
Flowing Wells, another perennial power, will face Snowflake in another quarterfinal at 1 p.m.
Tuesday’s action will start at 11:30 a.m. with the other quarterfinals between Mica Mountain and Coolidge and Nogales and Yuma Cibola.
The eight-team Silver Championship Bracket begins play at 10 a.m. Teams in that bracket are Mountain View, St. David, Queen Creek, Walden Grove, Sabino, Palo Verde, Sahuarita and Rincon/University.
Sunnyside, coached by fifth-year coach Justin Delgado, beat Queen Creek 62-35 and Cienega 61-22 in its two victories.
Despite the considerable loss of players, including former forward Nayeli Nidez-Acuna (who is now a freshman at Knox College), Sunnyside appears to be ready to be a formidable 6A team.
The play of AJ Yanez inside was impressive, especially in the fourth quarter in the win over Queen Creek. She scored 10 of her 14 points in the quarter to help Sunnyside pull away. Many of her points came on put-backs and aggressive moves near the basket, similar to Nidez-Acuña (who accomplished the rare feat of at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career).
“I learned a lot from her,” Yanez said of Nidez-Acuña, who is averaging 17.5 points and 8.8 rebounds at Knox through four starts. “I’m trying to accomplish what she kind of did. … I’m trying to fill in that spot the best that I can.”
Delgado mentioned that Yanez “is a huge unknown in Southern Arizona.”
“She’s going to really show out this year; she’s going to have a big year,” Delgado said. “She’s going to make her presence known. … She’s going to make people know and notice real quick.”
With Nayeli Nidez-Acuña graduated and now excelling at Knox College, junior forward AJ Yanez is taking on the role having an inside presence for @LadyDevil_Hoops. She had 10 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter of the Blue Devils’ 62-35 win over Queen Creek in the Inferno… pic.twitter.com/Fw75DLtb2D
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 26, 2024
The aggressive guard play of senior Janae Pritchett, sophomore Dora Medina and freshman Annabelle Quiroga is making up for the transfer of talented sophomore Ylena Gross to Bella Vista Prep in Phoenix.
Quiroga also came on strong in the fourth quarter with eight of her 16 points. She can knocked down the 3-pointer (finished with two) and relentlessly attack the lane.
Medina finished with nine points and Pritchett four.
The scoring production, high to low, will rotate among these three guards all season because of their talent on any given night.
“Some can be super aggressive; some others can shoot it,” Delgado said of his trio of guard starters. “They can all pass it. They love to play. They get after it on defense. I’m blessed to have all three of them.”
https://t.co/CUU6F3Gak1 intern @OliverQuebecois (a Sunnyside senior) and I interview @LadyDevil_Hoops @CoachDelgado012 after the Blue Devils’ 62-35 win over Queen Creek in the Inferno Invitational at Sunnyside. Delgado, in his fifth season at Sunnyside, has worked wonders with… pic.twitter.com/1a7UT9zsQ1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 26, 2024
Sahuaro, under Steve Botkin, coaching his 30th year of girls basketball, took care of business as well in its two victories Tuesday in the Inferno Invitational.
The Cougars defeated Baboquivari 54-27 and St. David 49-23 in its pool play without starting forward Biale Sika, who went down early against Baboquivari with a knee injury.
In the victory over St. David, Harmony Tuito led the Cougars with 15 points and Maggie Boyd added eight.
Four different players made 3-pointers –Tuito, Cally Coolidge, Lila Rodriguez and Grace Tostle.
.@SahuaroHoops coach Steve Botkin’s team won its first two games of the Inferno Invitational at Sunnyside, beating Baboquivari 54-27 and St. David 49-23. The Cougars were without injured forward Biale Sika, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Players such as Harmony Tuito… pic.twitter.com/GeE7lTEAc1
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) November 26, 2024
“(Sika) is one of our talented girls,” Botkin said. “She rebounds and she scores. Not having her on the court, we had to find some other people to pick up the slack and score. To see some other girls step up and score — she’d get you 12, 14, 16 points a game — to see some other girls do that and get some rebounds for us was nice.”
Botkin is 640-205 in his coaching career — 533-139 at Sahuaro in his 24th year there and 107-66 in his six years at Rincon/University to begin his coaching career.
Pool A
Mountain View 42, Queen Creek 38
Snowflake 50, Cienega 14
Sunnyside 62, Queen Creek 35
Sunnyside 61, Cienega 22
Snowflake 52, Mountain View 14
Pool B
Sahuaro 54, Baboquivari 27
Flowing Wells 56, St David 26
Walden Grove 55, Baboquivari 30
Sahuaro 49, St. David 23
Flowing Wells 44, Walden Grove 43
Pool C
Nogales 48, Benson 24
Mica Mountain 50, Sahuarita 36
Nogales 50, Sabino 40
Mica Mountain 65, Benson 25
Sabino 34, Sahuarita 28
Pool D
Rincon/University 61, Palo Verde 24
Coolidge 71, Cholla 6
Cibola 74, Palo Verde 20
Cibola 82, Cholla 6
Coolidge 55, Rincon/University 37
INFERNO INVITATIONAL — VARSITY GIRLS GOLD CHAMPIONSHIP
INFERNO INVITATIONAL — VARSITY GIRLS SILVER CHAMPIONSHIP
Recommended for you
