PRESCOTT VALLEY — Makela Martinez scored 12 points, Savannah Tobias added 11 and Mingus escaped upset with a 40-39 win over an upstart Bradshaw Mountain club in a double overtime thriller Tuesday night.

It is the eighth straight power point win to begin the season for the Marauders (15-1, 2-0 4A Grand Canyon), which aim to challenge defending state and region champion Flagstaff this season for the Grand Canyon crown.

“Two overtimes and your back against the wall, hopefully that builds confidence that the game is never over,” Mingus head coach Troy Hoke said. “That’s the biggest thing I can say we take away from this game, is the fact that [we] fought two overtimes and [we] never gave up.”

Mingus was without star freshman guard Brianka Villalobos for much of the contest as she deals with an injury, but Hoke wasn’t surprised to see a few other girls step up.

“A little different of a lineup, and some girls stepped up huge. I’ve been telling the girls I think we’re deep on the bench, which we showed [tonight].”

Peyton Valles, a freshman, came off the bench and hit a bucket in the first overtime to tie the game at 36-36 and send it to overtime No. 2.

Tobias, another freshman and leading Mingus in scoring this season at 17.5 points per game, scored six of her 11 in the second half.

Bradshaw Mountain’s Kalli Smith hit a 10-foot jumper to tie the game at 25-25 with 3:50 left in regulation, and two straight steals by Giselle Serrano cut Mingus’ lead to 29-28 with 1:14 left. She later tied it on a free throw.

Kalli Smith (12) brings the ball up the floor as Bradshaw Mountain hosted Mingus on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2023. Mingus won in double overtime, 40-39. (Brian M. Bergner Jr./AzPreps365)

Serrano scored 12 points on the night, while Smith added 11 in the loss for Bradshaw Mountain (3-9, 1-1 4A Grand Canyon), which has improved every game so far this season, according to first-year head coach Brad Clifford.

“You can’t give bigger praise and what they did tonight. And what they’ve done this whole season. I took the job late, we didn’t have much of a [summer], didn’t have much of a fall. This is a process,” Clifford said, joking after that he was a “little irritated” because now he knows how well his club can play.

“They took it with a grain of salt, obviously,” Clifford said with a big smile. “But we can be good if we stick with the process.”

Clifford said with the addition of Smith, some of the pressure has been taken off Serrano offensively.

“She’s doing a great job. … She has to be on the floor for us, no question.”

UP NEXT

Mingus is scheduled to travel to Lee Williams (4-6, 0-2 4A Grand Canyon) on Thursday, Jan. 4. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Marauders welcome Flagstaff on Jan. 8, 7 p.m.

Bradshaw Mountain heads south to Seton Catholic (9-5, 0-1 4A Desert Sky) with a 5:30 p.m. tip.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.