Under the Radar: Arizona 6A East Valley 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 East Valley region. <strong>Ahdiyah Chee - Sophomore - 5’6" - Dobson High School </strong> As a freshman last season, Chee was a firecracker for the Dobson Lady Mustangs throughout the 2020-2021 basketball season. The five-foot-six guard averaged 9.4 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game, and 1.9 assists per game in just her first year playing at the high school varsity level. Ahdiyah had a few stand-out games during the year and the first one came after the first tip-off of the season. Against Mountain View, #25 got the job done on both ends of the floor. She hit three big three-pointers (60%), three rebounds, and had three steals to help her team towards a double-digit win. This upcoming season will give Ahdiyah another chance to make a name for herself in the AAAAAA. <strong>Taylor Johnson - Senior - 5’8" - Red Mountain High School </strong> Johnson is a five-foot-eight, multi-sport athlete for the Red Mountain Lady Mountain Lions that will be heading back to the high school basketball court to start off the season for the last time. As a junior last year, the power forward averaged 8.8 points per game followed by an imposing 9.9 rebounds per game. She also was able to use her scrappy hands and feet to pick up 2.1 steals per game, as well. Taylor finished off the 2020-2021 basketball season with SIX double-doubles and there were a handful of games where she was one rebound away from adding to that list. Johnson is an all-around top-tier player in the East Valley region. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="338714" first="Courtenay" last="Lee"] - Junior - 6’4" - Mountain View High School </strong> After an impressive sophomore year, Lee, the six-foot-four center/power forward, will be returning to start off her first season as an upperclassman. For the Mountain View Lady Toros, Courtenay averaged 8.5 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game, and 2.9 blocks per game. Although the team as a whole did not have the most successful season, Lee not only literally stood above the rest but her game did as well. One game that I would like to highlight was not one where she scored 16 points, but when she brought down 12 rebounds (8 defensives, 4 offensive) and 7 blocks. She is the perfect example that you do not have to be the highest scorer on the team to make a very big difference. <strong>Amaya Bekele - Sophomore - 5’6" - Red Mountain High School </strong> Bekele was a five-foot-six freshman shooting guard last season for the Red Mountain Lady Mountain Lions that averaged 6.5 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game. More than half of her points for the season came from the three-point line where #21 finished off the season with 22 made from behind the arc. In a 7 point win against Tucson High Magnet School, Amaya knocked down 5 threes, shooting 45%, which lead to her 15 points for the win. The more experience that Bekele continues to get throughout high school is going to greatly prepare her for the next level. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="339406" first="Angelina" last="Montoya"] - Sophomore - 5’4" - Westwood High School </strong> Another freshman that performed extremely well for her first time playing at the 6A varsity level is Westwood Lady Warrior, [player_tooltip player_id="339406" first="Angelina" last="Montoya"]. The five-foot-four shooting guard averaged 5.7 points per game, 2.5 steals per game and, 1.3 rebounds per game over the course of a full 18-game season. She was named the MaxPreps Player of the Game early in the year against Mountain View High School where she finished the game with 17 points. Angelina shot the ball 50% from behind the three-point line where she knocked down three big shots, followed by a few mid-range pull-ups and free throws. I believe there is a lot more to come from this youngster in the future!