D-II Girls Hoops Preview

February 21, 2016 by Andy Morales, AZPreps365


Division II Girls Basketball Quarterfinals

Gila River Arena: Tuesday, Feb. 23

 

No. 1 Seton Catholic (29-1) vs. No. 8 Maricopa (23-6), 7:45 p.m.

Karen Self has guided Seton Catholic to seven state titles and four second place finishes since 1996 including a 52-49 loss to Maricopa in the Division II title game last year. A playoff rematch this early in the state bracket is unfortunate but it still might be filled with drama although the Sentinels took care of Maricopa 76-36 in early January.

Seton is led by sophomore Sarah Barcello (16.3 points per game) and junior sisters Jenn and LeeAnne Wirth. The Wirth sisters are two of only five 2017 prospects listed by ESPN with Jenn earning four stars.

Kati Burrows led the Rams to the title in her first and last year with the program because her alma mater came calling and Burrows took an assistant coaching job with Montana State. In a strange coincidence, Montana State graduate Melvin Mitchell was hired to replace Burrows. The Rams returned seven players from last year's team including Raegene Womack.

 

No. 2 Cactus Shadows (26-4) vs. No. 7 Arcadia (23-7), 6 p.m.

The Falcons and Titans failed to get out of the second round last year but one is guaranteed a trip to the semifinal round this year. Cactus Shadows lost twice to teams from out of state and head coach Richie Willis has taken the team from only five wins four years ago to the best performance since 2008 when the Falcons finished with 27 wins and a trip to the semifinal round.

Bryce Nixon leads Arcadia with over 20 points a game but the Titans fell to Cactus Shadows 53-28 in the regular season and 62-45 in the Section III championship game.

 

No. 3 Sierra Linda (29-3) vs. No. 6 Prescott (22-5), 4:15 p.m.

Sierra Linda made it to the quarterfinals last year while Prescott made it to the second round. The Bulldogs have never played for a state title while Prescott made one appearance in 1981. Desirae Carranza is in her fourth year at Sierra Linda and her win in the second round was her 100th of her career. Janae Gonzales leads the team with over 19 points a game.

First-year Prescott coach Bobbi Yoder already has one of the best records in recent program history. Ava Maneval and Mackenzie Grauberger came up big for the Badgers in the second round and they will have to do it again to continue the dream season.

 

No. 5 Mesa (26-4) vs. No. 13 Sahuaro (23-5)

Sahuaro made it to the quarterfinal round last year while the Jackrabbits missed the playoffs. Longtime Cougar coach Steve Botkin led his team to an upset of No. 4 Tucson in the second round. Senior standout Sydney Harden (1,561) is the leading scorer in program history while fellow senior Reazsha Benjamin is 25 points away from the 1,000-point mark.

Mesa senior and Grand Canyon commit Carley Turnbull has 1,623 career points and is averaging almost 15 points a game while junior Diamond Fuller is leading the team with 16.2 points a game. Brock Landis is in his fifth year with Mesa and he used switching defenses to get his team past the second round. Sahuaro is a 3-point shooting team so it will be interesting to see if it will be zone or man-to-man.

 

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