Nikya Orange made her debut for Tanque Verde (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

The playoff system for the 3A Conference is pretty simple: The top three teams from each of the six regions will earn an automatic state berth and those 18 teams will join six at-large teams to fill out the 24-team bracket. Simple, but that means teams should already be in playoff mode because that’s what region play is all about.

From the 3A South region, for example, No. 9 Sabino improved to 4-0 in region play thanks to a 40-35 win over No. 19 Tanque Verde. The Hawks fell to 1-3 in the region which puts the program in fourth place in the south behind No. 10 Empire (3-1) and No. 3 Pusch Ridge (3-1)…..

GAME STORY AT AZPreps365.com

Sabino freshman Kamryn Doty & Tanque Verde sophomore Ella Berg. (Andy Morales/AllSportsTucson.com)

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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and he was awarded the Ray McNally Award in 2017 and he has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. 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 was named a Local Hero by the Tucson Weekly for 2016. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com