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Millennium girls continue dominance in second straight 5A final

Sunrise Mountain starts fast before Tigers take over

Posted 3/2/20

It took a quarter, but eventually, as the Millennium girls basketball team has all year against 5A opposition, the hammer came down.

Second seed Sunrise Mountain was up for the challenge in the …

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Millennium girls continue dominance in second straight 5A final

Sunrise Mountain starts fast before Tigers take over

Posted

It took a quarter, but eventually, as the Millennium girls basketball team has all year against 5A opposition, the hammer came down.

Second seed Sunrise Mountain was up for the challenge in the first quarter of Monday's state title game, trailing the defending champion Tigers 15-12. Then Millennium stole the ball seven times in the second quarter and a three-point lead mushroomed into a 22-point halftime advantage.

Senior forward Alexandra Zelaya dominated the post, with 10 points and seven rebounds in the quarter alone, en route to a 40-18 halftime lead. Millennium (26-4) did not let up defensively until an abbreviated fourth quarter locking down its second straight 5A championship in a 59-30 rout.

"At the end of the first quarter it was 15-12. I don't think we were playing bad offensively. I don't think we took advantage of the opportunities we had," Millennium Cortland Rojeck said. "We didn't anticipate Sunrise Mountain coming out in transition that hard. We had to make that adjustment in the second quarter. But so many of these kids have won a state title already. Really all we said at the break was that the next eight minutes have to be better. Defensively we set a goal of what can we hold a team to - and our goal was 30."

Playing in its first girls basketball final, Sunrise Mountain (26-5) started strong. The Mustangs were willing to run with the Tigers  and trailed 15-12 

Senior Teryn Demaree led the way with seven points in the quarter.  She was the only Sunrise Mountain scorer to finish in double figures with 16.

"We talked about coming out and being aggressive. It's difficult to think that you're going to play them in a zone because they have a lot of kids that can shoot. So we tried to match up. The thing that really killed us tonight was the second chance points. They started rolling from there," Sunrise Mountain coach Jen Tolle said.

However, Tolle's team did not have an enviable choice defensively. If the doubled the 6-4 Zelaya, guards Trayanna Crisp and Amoret Maxwell were ready to shoot from deep.

The choice was to single Zelaya and the University of North Carolina-bound post turned her high school farewell into a showcase. She led all players with 22 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.

"It was a pleasant surprise. We were ready for them to send a double team and make the kickouts. And when they didn't do that my team did a great job of getting me the ball. It was a team effort and we took advantage of it," Zelaya said.

Maxwell shook off a late season injury and hit three treys in the final for 11 points.

Senior defensive ace Jasmine Singleton had seven steals and three blocks.

"We knew they were going to come out and play hard. This is their first state title game," Singleton said. "This was a dream come true."

That senior duo played in the 6A state title game as freshmen. Then Zelaya and Singleton were part of a 2017-18 team that dealt with a stunning loss as a top seed in the semifinals to Phoenix Xavier Prep.

Millennium has lost one game to an Arizona opponent since - to 6A finalist Valley Vista a little more than a month ago.

Their record in each of the last two seasons? 27-4.

"This is everything we imagined. I wouldn't want to be with any other people. Endind the senior year with a bang was what I was planning to do and what we did," Zelaya said.

The third Millennium senior starter, guard Kylie Grant was the glue again. She finished with five rebounds, four assists and her usual sticky defense.

Grant grew into a key role in the two title teams.

"Honestly, we kind of expected this. We worked really hard. We worked as hard as we worked last season," Grant said. "It's really satisfying to know we went back-to-back and were the first team in Millennium history to do that. It's extremely exciting and I'm very satisfied."

Tolle credited seniors Demaree and Sydney Bickel, as well as her juniors, for a remarkable turnaround to get her. Two years ago Sunrise Mountain finished with a 13-13 record in 4A.

The program's improvement in the last two years looks like only the start of something big for this group.  The other three starters were a junior, a sophomore and a freshman.

"I'm so proud of how hard they play. They always do that. It doesn't matter if it's a state championship or summer league. They represented our school so well," Tolle said.

The problem for Sunrise Mountain and the rest of 5A? Millennium is in the conference to stay and shows no sign of slowing down.

The Tigers will miss Grant, Singleton and Zelaya along with the rest of its seniors. But sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp looks ready to take over the offense, and Maxwell and fellow junior Kassidy Dixon played major roles in this title drive. 

"This program is built to reload. Do I expect this group of girls returning to be back on this  stage a year from now? That would be the expectation," Rojeck said.