No seniors are on his roster after losing eight players from last season to graduation — seven of whom are athletes in college — yet Salpointe coach Joseph Luevano led the Lancers to a possession away from reaching the Open Division quarterfinals.
Luevano should be a state coach of the year candidate with Salpointe at 26-4 and primed for a state title in the 4A tournament that starts Thursday when the top-seeded Lancers host No. 16 Amphi (14-14).
All of that is promising for Salpointe, but the 51-49 loss Thursday night to Tempe McClintock at home in the Open Division second round game was a tough one to stomach.
“Our locker room is a little sad and depressed and devastated,” Luevano said. “I’m hoping that experience prepares us for the next one.”
Salpointe coach Joe Luevano talks about his team’s 51-49 loss to Tempe McClintock in an Open Division second-round game. Salpointe (26-4) will shift to the 4A state tournament next week. McClintock (24-3) will stay in the Open Division and play in the quarterfinals next week.… pic.twitter.com/RWPRe9ogzG
— Javier Morales (@JavierJMorales) February 20, 2026
Junior playmaker Jayci Nelson, sister of Arizona reserve guard Evan Nelson, appeared as though she could send the game into overtime but a drive to the basket ended with a shot that bounced off the rim with 2 seconds left for the No. 3 Lancers.
McClintock, seeded wrong at No. 19 with a 24-3 record, corralled the rebound and dribbled out the clock.
“I’m so proud of how hard they fought,” Luevano said of his team. “We just didn’t make shots when we needed to and didn’t execute. I feel so bad for Jayci Nelson. She laid everything out there in the game and the last shot she had rattled in and out.
“She gave us everything. Our initial goal was to compete for the Open. … We mourn this loss and we’re still alive. So it’s great. For a program like us and players like us who aspire more, we’ve got to mourn this for a little bit before we can turn the page.”
When that time comes next week, Salpointe’s youthful talent will realize it is in position to win another state championship after Luevano coached the program to 4A titles in 2022 and 2024, alongside Open Division Elite Eight appearances in 2023 and 2025.
Sidney Anderson (Grand Canyon), Ava Dagnino (Pima College), Allison Even (Trinity), Taliyah Henderson (North Carolina), Jolee Nelson (Pima), Jordan Watts (Mesa College) and Hannah Williams (Northern Arizona) were with the Lancers last season and are now playing in college.
Jayci Nelson finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and five steals against McClintock and fellow junior forward Aryanna Kollasch led the team with 11 points and had five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Abuk Lual, a 6-foot-4 sophomore center who will garner recruiting interest from Division I programs soon, had eight points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
Asked of Lual’s potential, Luevano said, “It’s off the charts.”
“She’s not only our most improved player this year, but she’s the most improved and impactful,” he added. “She’s probably the most impactful player in Southern Arizona not named Jayci Nelson.”
Three freshmen — Jayda Nelson, Kayla Del Rio and Erin Even — combined for 16 points.
“We’re such a young team,” Luevano said. “The inexperience kind of showed tonight. We got rattled late and had some uncharacteristic turnovers.”
A turning point in the game occurred after Jayda Nelson made a layup with 6:07 left in the first half, giving Salpointe its biggest lead at 21-12.
The Lancers made only one more field goal the rest of the half, going 1 of 7 with their last five shots 3-pointers that were off the mark.
McClintock outscored Salpointe 10-3 in that stretch to cut the lead to 24-22 at halftime.
Jayci Nelson’s jumper with 1:03 left in the third quarter gave Salpointe a 39-32 lead, but the Lancers would go 6:27 without making a field goal afterward. Salpointe went 0 of 5 with five turnovers in that span.
An 8-0 run put McClintock ahead 40-39 with 6:22 remaining.
Kollasch’s putback with 2:36 left ended the field goal drought and cut the lead to 45-44.
A 3-pointer by Erin Even with 1:16 remaining put Salpointe behind 48-47.
Two missed free throws by McClintock with 24.4 seconds left opened the door for Salpointe, which trailed 49-48.
Kollasch made one of two free throws with 18.5 seconds left to tie the game.
McClintock’s Diamond Prince took a pass at midcourt and beat Salpointe’s defenders to the basket with a layup with 12.4 seconds remaining.
After Luevano called a timeout with 10 seconds left, a well-designed play freed Jayci Nelson for an open look in the lane but her shot bounced off the rim.
“We have five freshmen and five sophomores,” Luevano said. “The only two kids on our roster who have legitimate are Ary Kollash and Jayci Nelson. The rest of them are just playing off of their talent and their belief and buy-in.
“We’ve tested them all season long. We’ve now played 20 teams in the top 32 and we’re 17-3. I’m just so proud of them of how they fight, believe and buy in. We’ve just gotta execute.”
Prince scored six of her 10 points and Kamari Roddy had seven of her nine points in the fourth quarter for McClintock. The Chargers were led by Niya Gamble’s 11 points.
They advance to the Open Division quarterfinals on Thursday at No. 11 Canyon View.
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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. He became an educator in 2016 and is presently a special education teacher at Sunnyside High School in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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