Our game of the week between Mountain Ridge and Boulder Creek girls started out neck and neck, as both teams defended each other’s plan of attack early on. The result was a 23-23 tie at the half. It seems that the Lady Jaguars of Boulder Creek settled for taking three point shots. In reviewing the game stats, 79% of their points total came from three pointers. Mountain Ridge’s Head Coach Jaime Carreon made a defensive adjustment by going to a 1-3-1 zone which forced the Lady Jaguars to take long low percentage shots. The result of Mountain Ridge’s defensive second…
Author: George Courtney
In a one-sided affair, the Lady Skyhawks of Deer Valley flew past the Lady Badgers of Prescott. Early on, Coach Dawn Almazan applied relentless full-court pressure, which forced multiple turnovers by the Prescott backcourt and resulted in a timeout by Prescott Head Coach Jami Johson. Coach Johnson regrouped her team, however the Lady Skyhawks depth and size ended up being difficult to match. Once Deer Valley built a comfortable lead, Coach Almazan had her ladies focus on their half-court defense and deployed her reserves. Senior Center Michaela “KK” Lee was a force inside, pouring in 19 points and snagging 9…
Dream City Christian Prep’s Mame Fatou Diene is one of my favorite sleeper prospects, as she has incredible ability and upside. Standing at nearly 6-foot-5, Diene has the frame, length and size to be a solid Division-I prospect. San Jose State University jumped on the Diene recruiting train, as they saw how impactful Diene could be. I was able to talk to her Head Coach Al Mitchell at Dream City Christian and here is what he had to say about her, “Mame brings toughness to our team. She has the ability to score at all three levels. Defensively, she has…
One of the top guard prospects in the 2026 class, Perry High School’s Sage Henry, has been offered by the University of Utah. This isn’t a surprise, as Henry is a sure-fire high-major Division-I prospect. Standing at 5-foot-9, Henry has the length and athleticism to pose a match-up nightmare for opposing guards. In the games I observed her, Henry is a three-level scorer that plays with a fast pace. She is deadly in transition, as she is the type of prospect who knows how to strike the iron when it’s hot. Besides being an impactful scorer, she has a tight…
In an exhausting trip, the Salpointe Catholic Lady Lancers looked worn out in their Thursday night matchup against the Mesa Lady Jackrabbits. Salpointe played in the opening game of the Hoophall Classic and lost to a deep Millenium Lady Tigers team the night before. That matchup was between the defending 5A and 4A State Champions respectively. Mesa High Head Coach Katie Fonseca drew up a phenomenal game plan on both ends of the floor. Her defense stifled Salpointe’s offensive rhythm, to where their shots were not falling and forced many turnovers. Offensively, the Lady Jackrabbits took care of the ball…
In one of the most exciting times of the year, the Hoophall West is back in Arizona. (6) high school girl’s teams tipped off at Chaparral High School to include Salpointe Catholic, Millennium, Mater Dei (CA), Perry, Sandra Day O’Connor, and host school Chaparral. The final scores were: Millennium 52 Salpointe 45 Mater Dei 82 Perry 69 O’Connor 49 Chaparral 28 Here are some of my takeaways from the games: Millennium The Lady Tigers aren’t missing a beat under new leadership in Coach Danny Soliman. They are a deep team with a lot of skilled prospects. Their guard play is…
The Canyon Athletic Association (CAA) is a scholastic league which gets overlooked. Often there are really good prospects who compete in the league, and the staff at Arizona Preps and GC3 Hoops are working hard to provide coverage to those programs. I was able to attend a solid match-up between defending CAA Division-I State Champion Ridgeline Academy Lady Eagles and talented Southern Arizona Prep Lady Volunteers. Both teams are filled with good prospects and talent coming up. The game is one of the best I attended, as small school hoops bring great energy in a snug gymnasium. The game started…
The Winter Basketball Season has arrived. I am so excited to be covering the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference, Arizona Interscholastic Association, Grind Session, and the Canyon Athletic Association. Unfortunately, there are schedule conflicts, so I had to move the ACCAC Game of the Week up to Saturday, which featured Chandler-Gilbert Community College visiting Mesa Community College. The game was a back-and-forth battle, with Mesa leading the way by no more than 6 points through the first three quarters. In the 4th, Mesa’s freshman wings Kada Taliman and AnnMarie Trojanvoich caught fire and hit some big threes to propel their…
This is the first of many junior college games that GC3 Hoops will be covering this season. The Arizona Community College Athletic Conference is filled with hidden talent that would make an immediate impact at the (4) year level. The staff at GC3 Hoops and Arizona Preps is committed to evaluating and promoting the top athletes from Arizona JUCO’s. The first junior college game I had the privilege to cover was between the Glendale College Lady Gauchos and the Scottsdale College Lady Fighting Artichokes. Out of the gate, Scottsdale built a lead behind fantastic shooting from sophomore guard Malia Ukestine.…
This was a matchup of two solid 6A contenders in the Dobson Lady Mustangs and the Cibola Lady Raiders. The game was a back-and-forth defensive battle from the tip. Both teams are well coached, as Cibola’s Anthony Gerg and Dobson’s Henry Bribiescas have built perennial contenders for their respective programs. The game came down to possessions, which Dobson guards Aaliyah Garcia, Ahdiayh Chee, and Jaziah Billey made plays and hit key shots to gain the momentum – building a lead to hold off Cibola’s “Big Three” in Isabella Molina, Sierra Bomhower, and Rory Hoffmeyer. Dobson’s front court (Isabella Jensen, Sophia…