Ruiz leads ERAU basketball, hits career high

Maricopa’s Danae Ruiz is again leading her college basketball team to the Cal Pac playoffs.

Ruiz, 22, a 2016 graduate of Maricopa High School, is a senior guard for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott. Saturday, she scored a career-high 34 points for the Eagles in a win over Pacific Union College to end the regular season.

The Eagles were 23-4 overall and are seeded second in the California Pacific Conference bracket of the NAIA.

Ruiz was the team leader in scoring with 13.75 points per game, which is eighth in Cal Pac. Last season, she was the conference’s player of the year. She is majoring in forensic psychology.

Her free-throw shooting is 79.3%, ranked third in Cal Pac.  Her 330 point total is sixth. She is seventh in 3-pointers and eighth in steals. Ruiz has 54 steals, 54 assists and 98 rebounds.

Embry-Riddle takes on University of California-Merced in the conference playoffs Saturday in Prescott.