The 5 Best Girls Players in Tucson for 2021

Tucson has some outstanding girls’ basketball players and  they are just starting the 2021 season. The top five include three point forwards and two point guards. Included are last year’s Gatorade Player of the Year, [player_tooltip player_id="72619" first="<strong>Alyssa</strong>" last="<strong>Brown</strong>"], who averaged 31 points and 10 rebounds a game. Here is a profile of the top five: [player_tooltip player_id="72619" first="<strong>Alyssa</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;">" last="<strong>Brown</strong>"]: A 6"-1’ captain for the Sahuaro  Lady Cougars, Brown recently committed to play for UNLV. "I’ve been playing basketball since I was four years old and playing in college has always been a dream for me," said Brown. "I am now continuing my academic and athletic career at UNLV. It is the perfect fit for me - perfect location, perfect program, perfect resources for being a business major. I also have a strong connection with the coaches."</span> Brown also considered scholarships from Vanderbilt, Colorado, New Mexico, Rice, and the University of California-Santa Barbara. She shot 55% from the field last year and 34% from beyond the three-point line. Additionally, Brown set the state scoring record (932 points) while also averaging 3.9 steals per game and 1.3 blocks per game. Sahuaro finished 28-2 last year, losing the state championship game to Chandler Seton Catholic. It was their first title appearance since 2001. In Sahuaro’s region (4A Kino) Brown was both the offensive and defensive player of the year. UNLV Assistant Coach Nneka Enemkpali recruited Brown and had this evaluation." She is a prolific scorer who is both versatile and dynamic and a good defender." said Enemkpali. " She is also the sweetest and. kindest person with great character." [player_tooltip player_id="217481" first="<strong>Jayda</strong>" last="<strong>Pina</strong>"]: is a 6-0 senior center for Marana High School. Jayda also plays on the Lady Tigers volleyball and track and field teams. In the school season of 2018-2019, Jayda was selected Player of the Game on four different occasions. In one game she shot 5-6 from the field and 3-3 from the foul line. In another game in 2019 against Rio Rico, she had 14 points and six rebounds and shot 70% from the floor. Jada has received a scholarship offer from SUNY-Canton. Her grassroots/AAU team is the Tucson Rattlers and she plays for Tory Perez at Marana High School. "She has grown quite a bit over the last four years," said Coach Perez. "She is our center, works well inside, has a good jump shot and continues to work on her strength. She is also a leader on the court, picking up other players.  Jayda is a great teammate. She keeps her defender in front of her and is strong at getting both offensive and defensive rebounds." "Jayda also runs the ball well in transition," added Coach Perez. " She is very coachable and also very resilient as well as being aggressive. She will certainly play at the next level." [player_tooltip player_id="113519" first="<strong>Jaya</strong> <span style="font-size: 1rem;"> last="<strong>Nelson</strong>"]: is a 5-10 senior guard who plays for Joe Luevono at Salpointe Catholic High School. She also plays for Arizona Supreme Hoops and is a member of the Lady Lancers track and field team. She teams with Brianna Arizmendi to form a dynamic backcourt for Salpointe Catholic. The two went head-to-head a number of times in grassroots/AAU play while competing for different club teams. Their competition helped their chemistry at Salpointe with the Lancers winning the MLK tournament at Flowing Wells last winter. In the fourth game of the tournament, Jaya had 14 points and nine rebounds.</span> Jaya is a versatile player who can score from just about anywhere on the court. She can also defend all five positions. Jaya is one of the most underrated players in Southern Arizona and helped Salpointe Catholic to a 24-6 record last winter where they lost in the 4A Quarterfinals last February. She was the Lady Lancers’ top scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per contest. "We have a very talented roster returning for 2021," said Coach Luevano. " The team is led by one of the most experienced backcourts in the state - [player_tooltip player_id="113519" first="Jaya" last="Nelson"], Brianna Arizmendi, and Kylie Callahan." Jaya’s brother, Eric Nelson, was also an outstanding basketball player at Salpointe Catholic and is now on the team at Harvard. &nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id="113529" first="<strong>Milinda</strong>" last="<strong>Arguellez</strong>"]:  is a 5-8 senior guard who plays for both the Flowing Wells Lady Caballeros and the Tucson Rattlers. At Flowing Wells, she plays for 15-year Head Coach Michael Perkins. Last winter the Lady Cabs finished 20-8 with a 9-1 record in the 5A Sonoran Region. As a sophomore and as a junior, Milinda made First Team All-Region and was Offensive Player of the Year for both seasons. She averaged 18.4 points per game in 2019-2020. Milinda also had a career-high 39 points in a game last winter against Mountain View, had a double-double against Cholla and is also a member of the Sports360All-Academic First Team. A year ago she scored her 1,000 career point and coming into the 2021 season has a three-year total of 1,257 points. Milinda recently committed to Texas A &amp; M International in Laredo. She is the eighth all-time leading scorer in Flowing Wells history. While a known scorer, Milinda is also known to be a defensive specialist. On defense, she calls her team’s switches and rotations, is aggressive in playing her opponent and refuses to let a defender beat her. She should easily take her game to the next level. &nbsp; <strong>Ahidale Dehuelbes:</strong> is a 5-5 senior guard for Tucson Magnet High School and AZ Select Tucson. Her Badgers play in the 6A Desert Southwest Region and have won six regional titles in a row, dating back to 2014-2015. At THS Ahidale plays for Annette Gutierrez, now in her eighth season as girls varsity coach. Coach Gutierrez has had six state appearances in seven years and five conference championships. Her overall record is 140-32 with 19 years of coaching experience. Last winter Ahidale averaged 7 points per game and 4 assists per contest, For 2021, she was ranked 60th of the top 100 players by Prep Girls Hoops. She recently committed to Eastern Nazarene, a Division II school in Quincy, Massachusett.. Eastern Nazarene is a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. Now she will be able to play at the next level. An outstanding playmaker and defender, Ahidale is also a leader on the court. She also is grateful for all of the people that pushed her and made her be the player she is. "I would like to thank my parents, siblings, high school and club coaches as well a all of my teammates to push me and believe in me, " she said. "I am blessed and super-excited to announce that my academic and athletic career will continue at Eastern Nazarene - go Lions!." &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;