Mitchell scores 37 as Rams crush Sierra Linda in home opener

Derona Mitchell was at the top of her rapidly improving game during Wednesday night’s Maricopa High School girls basketball home opener. The sophomore forward poured in 37 points and pulled down 17 rebounds to lead the Rams to a 70-43 victory over visiting Phoenix Sierra Linda in a Class 4A-II non-region contest.

“She is the most polite and nice girl off the court, and then when they blow that whistle, she is just an animal,” Maricopa coach Jennifer Miller said in complimenting Mitchell. “She attacks that basket, and she finishes.”

Utilizing a relentless array of layups and putbacks, Mitchell finished the first half with 14 points and seven rebounds, and she added 23 more points and 10 additional rebounds after halftime.

“We were talking about it on the bench – you just don’t mess with her down on the block, because she would pull down the rebound and somebody would bump her and she would go right back up and put it in like nothing happened,” Miller said about Mitchell, who is in her second season with the Maricopa varsity. “She has grown a lot in the last year. She has loads more confidence.”

Mitchell’s first-half highlights included a turnaround 6-footer in the lane that gave the Rams an early 5-2 lead, a basket underneath against two defenders that extended the Maricopa advantage to 17-9, and a fastbreak layup less than a minute later that made it 19-9.
Mitchell began the second half with a reverse layup to put the Rams ahead by 18 points at 35-17.

Early in the fourth quarter, after Sierra Linda had pulled within 48-36, Mitchell converted a three-point play on a putback and ensuing free throw to increase Maricopa’s lead to 51-36. She added an additional 16 points in the final period by making two layups, four putbacks and four foul shots.

While Mitchell was dominating the block and low post on both ends of the court, the Rams were getting key contributions on the perimeter from junior point guard Paige Provost, who finished with 18 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

Provost swished four shots from beyond the three-point arc, including three in the first half. Her three-pointer from the left wing at the second-quarter buzzer gave Maricopa a 33-17 lead at the intermission.

“Paige got it done in the first half, and Derona really stepped it up in the second half,” Miller said.

Morgan Rainey added nine points and four rebounds for the Rams, who also got four points and six rebounds from Andrea Thompson.

Additionally, Miller praised senior guard Kyndra Flowers for her consistent play on defense.
“Kyndra caused a lot of turnovers,” Miller said. “Sierra Linda has some streaky shooters, and she didn’t allow them to get hot for most of the game.”

Sierra Linda was led by Janessa Awkward, who finished with 15 points, and Clarissa Sabado, who added 13. The Bulldogs also got 10 points from Carmen Salas.

The victory was the second of the week for the Rams, who posted a 42-34 win at Gilbert Higley in their 4A-II East Sky Region opener on Tuesday.

“Between last night and tonight, we played with a lot of intensity,” Miller said following Wednesday’s game against Sierra Linda. “They played great defense, and they boxed out and got the rebounds. So I’m really happy with where we’re at right now.”

With the win over Sierra Linda, the Rams improved to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in games that count in the AIA power point standings.

After starting the season with a 1-3 record in last weekend’s Scorpion Shootout tournament at Goodyear Desert Edge, the Rams held a team discussion at Monday’s practice.

“They had a conversation about what they wanted,” Miller said. “They set their goals. And since then, practice, games, everything we’ve done, it has been about working together as a team. It’s been about communicating. And they’ve really focused on rebounding and playing tough defense.”