Under the Radar: Arizona 6A Central Region

With the 2021-2022 high school basketball season closing in, let’s take a little bit of time to look back on the last season and some of the elite players that may have fallen a little Under the Radar in the state of Arizona Class AAAAAA Central region. <strong>Kaitlyn Reekie - Senior - 5’10" - Desert Ridge High School </strong> Kaitlyn Reekie, the five-foot-ten senior for the Desert Ridge Lady Jaguars averaged 10.6 points per game along with 3.2 rebounds per game and 1.4 steals per game for her first year as an upperclassman. She finished off the season with a total of 149 points scored helping lead her team to a winning overall record of 13-6 and 7-3 in conference play. In just about every game that Reekie played in, she was scoring in the double digits making herself a force to be reckoned with if she got hot from behind the arc. Throughout five games in the 2020-2021 basketball season, Kaitlyn was shooting the ball for over 50% leading to some high-scoring games for #32. Do not let her get comfortable or it will end up being a very long night for the opposing team. <strong>Megan Kirchhardt - Senior - Corona del Sol High School </strong> Returning for her final year of high school eligibility for the Corona del Sol Lady Aztecs is senior Megan Kirchhardt. Last season, Megan averaged 9.5 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists per game, and 2.3 steals per game leading to a total of 152 points scored over the course of the season. She is the type of player who has the ability to score at all three levels and will make the smart decision the majority of the time. Kirchhardt also completed her junior season with four double-double finishes in points and rebounds. #13 exudes confidence when on the floor and I am excited to see how it will all transfer over to her last season of high school basketball. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="137294" first="Kamiyah" last="Hurd"] - Senior - 5’9" - Desert Vista High School </strong> Hurd is a five-foot-nine power forward for the Desert Vista Lady Thunder that is "Soaring into Senior Year" as she would like to say! As a junior last season, she averaged 12.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game along with 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. She is full of heart on and off of the court and will be a good mentor for the younger teammates to look up to. Kamiyah dominates the glass throughout her minutes and shares the ball with ease. That ultimately led to her finishing the season with three double-doubles (22 points, 11 rebounds/9 offensive), (20 points, 14 assists), (21 points, 12 rebounds/9 offensive). Be on the lookout for a stand-out senior year! <strong>Maddie Mitchell - Junior - Corona del Sol High School </strong> Mitchell was a sophomore guard last season for the Corona del Sol Lady Aztecs that averaged 6.8 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game as an underclassman. Although the team as a whole had a tough year, Maddie still managed to have a few breakout games to draw some attention along the way. She had a high scoring performance (20 points) in a double-digit win over Chaparral High School where she shot 50% from the three-point line late in February 2021. After a couple of seasons at the high school varsity level under her belt, I believe that Mitchell is more than prepared to help lead the Lady Aztecs into a successful year. <strong>Breanna Larney - Senior - 5’6" - Desert Vista High School</strong> Breanna is an experienced veteran senior for the Desert Vista Lady Thunder that will be returning to the court one last time. Last season she averaged 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 steals, and 1.7 assists per game to help her team to a winning overall record of 12-5. Larney had a standout game against Corona del Sol early in the year where she had 16 points, 7 big defensive boards, 2 assists and, 2 steals. She is the type of player that is going to share the ball and hustle hard. This dedicated multi-sport athlete will be one to watch her senior year.