It’s officially the basketball postseason in Arizona. Every year there’s multiple teams that are considered the favorites to win their respective brackets. But just as there’s favorites, there’s also lower seeds capable of going on “Cinderella” runs and upsetting multiple teams favored over them in the process.
Here are three sleeper teams in both the boys and girls brackets capable of making runs from their lower seeds in the Open Division:
Girls
No. 17 Sandra Day O'Connor Eagles
After a strong schedule that saw O'Connor face Nevada's top team Bishop Gorman, No. 2 Xavier Prep, and No. 6 Pinnacle, the Eagles enter the postseason as a battle tested unit with the capability to take some of the top teams in the state down to the wire.
Led by the dynamic duo of senior Thalia Daniels and sophomore Audrey Bhesania, the Eagles possess a lengthy and tall lineup as their main rotation has three girls over 5'9 which creates matchup problems for opposing teams. As the season has progressed, the emergence of freshman Ava Schooler has given a defensively strong team a third scorer to become a balanced unit.
The key to O'Connor's success in both the Open Division and the 6A bracket will be the supporting cast. Taeja Bartee's defense on quick guards will be crucial to slowing down opposing teams and allowing O'Connor to utilize their size. Mcguire Lennon has provided a spark offensively with her post game and as a unit that wants to play inside out, her ability to pass from the paint and rebound will be big for the Eagles.
No. 20 Raymond S. Kellis Cougars
Last season, the Cougars missed the inaugural Open Division tournament falling just .2 PowerPoints away from the bracket as the No. 33 team and made it to the quarterfinals of the 5A conference bracket before losing to the eventual runner up.
Kellis responded by leaving no doubt this season as the Cougars led by a unit of four sophomores and a freshman rolled through their region to clinch the first region title for the program since 2010, when their head coach Shanelle Balark was playing for the school.
The Cougars suffered all three of their losses early in the season before transfer Luz Marian Santos Mas was eligible and likely region player of the year Shanielle Mallory was healthy.
Since December 22nd, the Cougars have won 14 consecutive games by an average margin of 24 points and leading the way has been their suffocating defense led by Mallory who enters the postseason averaging six steals per game and 6'2 center Nevaeh Limbacher who averages two blocks per game and disrupts an even higher number.
As a unit, the Cougars play a 'run-n-gun" style that capitalizes on opponent's mistakes for quick points in transition, with seven players averaging two steals per game and four or more rebounds per contest, teams if they aren't careful can find themselves trailing early and not able to come back.
No. 26 Millennium Tigers
If a poll was taken of the basketball media in the state, most people would be hard pressed to find 25 teams better than the defending Open Division runner up Millennium Tigers.
Led by all-state star and future UNLV Lady Rebel Elli Guiney, the Tigers behind a schedule that saw matchups against Xavier Prep, Mater Dei, Hamilton, Lynwood (CA), Democracy Prep (NV), and Mullen (CO) saw their ranking tank due to the amount of competition against out-of-state teams.
But that brutal schedule and an extra week to get healthy has set the Tigers up as a unit that can make a run from near the bottom of the bracket to the elite eight of the Open Division.
Leading the way alongside Guiney has been the freshmen duo of Dashia Richardson and Jayda Hunt. Guiney leads the offense as the primary ball handler and Richardson provides a nice scoring punch and perimeter defending ability to counter Guiney. Hunt mostly plays inside the paint and leads team in rebounding.
Although this is one of the youngest supporting casts in the state, Guiney and Tigers are a dangerous team who can get hot and beat almost anyone.
Boys
No. 20 Pinnacle Pioneers
It's been an up and down year for the Pioneers. Prior to the season it looked like they'd be without star forward Braylon Johnson and incoming transfer Tommy Randolph and that their ceiling would be lowered significantly. Well fast forward to the present day and Johnson is here and Randolph looks to be healthy, and the duo is ready to make noise.
With the question marks surrounding Johnson and Randolph, junior guard Ryan Nelson and sophomore wing Kareem Alkhalifa emerged as strong scoring threats and behind a tough schedule that included matchups against No.1 Perry, No. 2 Notre Dame Prep, No. 3 Sunnyslope, No. 5 Desert Mountain, and No. 8 Boulder Creek, the Pioneers are tested and ready to roll.
No. 22 Dysart Demons
The Demons rolled through their non tournament schedule to a perfect record and a region championship yet enter the postseason as a dangerous yet hungry team ready to pull an upset.
Led by guard Nate Morales and brothers Nigel and Lamar Anderson, the trio of demons provide a matchup disadvantage for opposing teams with their length on the wings and their ability to attack opposing guards.
Since their narrow loss to district rival Willow Canyon at a holiday tournament, the Demons rolled through their second half schedule winning each game by an average of 32 points including a 27-point drubbing of Cactus in which they held seven-foot center Brady Henige to 17 points.
Nigel Anderson mostly plays on the wing while Lamar plays inside the paint alongside Kye Brown to provide a unit with the ability to switch on the defensive end and provide proper spacing with Morales on the offensive end.
No. 26 Mesa Jackrabbits
In a year the most expected the Jackrabbits to take a step back, coach Scott Stansberry and his team have exceeded expectations and enter the open division as a dangerous team to face off against.
In seven games against open division teams this season, the Jackrabbits went 4-3 with victories over No. 5 Desert Mountain, No. 22 Dysart, and No.23 Hamilton and close losses to No. 21 Canyon View and No. 25 Desert Vista. Since their loss to No. 20 Pinnacle in early January, Mesa has won ten straight ganes and enters the Open Division as one of the hottest teams in the state.
Behind the senior duo of Conway Cummard and Anthony Seumanu, the Jackrabbits are a defensively strong unit that can make things uncomfortable for opposing teams and like to slow things down on the offensive end to lower possessions for teams and force opponents into having to play a mistake free game.
In their four open division victories, they held their opponents to their worst scoring outputs of the season and the Jackrabbits shot an efficient 53% from the field.
Defense leads to offense for this team and if the teams they face aren't ready, they can make a run from the No. 26 seed.
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