Senior Jaleesa Rodriquez shows some power inside as the Rams take down Desert Ridge by 10 points. Photo by William Lange

The Maricopa High School girls’ basketball team will have to get through two of Arizona Interscholastic Association Division II’s top eight teams in order to win a section title.

The Rams clinched the third seed for the Section VI Tournament after defeating Desert Ridge High School (Mesa) 59-49 Tuesday night. The win allows Maricopa to play the lowest qualifying team in the first round of the tournament.

If the Rams get past Queen Creek High School in the first round, they will move on to face Mesa High School in the semi-finals, and likely the state’s top-ranked team, Seton Catholic High School, in the finals.

“We need to make sure everybody is engaged in what’s going on,” head coach Melvin Mitchell said. “Our transition game has always been our strength, but we have a tendency to revert from some of those things, so that’s our biggest Achilles heel.”

Maricopa lost early season meetings to both Mesa and Seton Catholic. However, this time around the Rams should be near full strength and feature dynamic players such as Tyra Williams, who missed the teams’ previous encounters. Injured at the end of Tuesday’s game was senior Allyssa Haley.raegene-KO

Maricopa finished second in last year’s section tournament before going on to win the state championship.

“We need to make sure everyone is on the same page,” Mitchell said. “[We need to] make sure everyone knows what they’re doing when they step out onto the floor. [We need to] get the subs more involved and active in the game even though they’re on the bench.”

Maricopa will play Queen Creek on Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe.

Adam Wolfe
Adam Wolfe
http://inmaricopa.com
Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams. Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams. Adam was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but spent the majority of his young life in Lakeside, Arizona. After graduating from Blue Ridge High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He has been working in the field of journalism since 2010. Adam has worked in a wide range of fields including professional sports and international media relations. He has also been a breaking news reporter, sports columnist, government reporter and community reporter. He spent a year in Denver, Colorado before coming to Maricopa in 2015. In his spare time, he will often be found enjoying the great outdoors. If he isn’t hiking or fishing, he is likely hopelessly cheering on his Arizona sports teams.
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