Open Division Elite 8: #4 Xavier Prep vs #21 McClintock

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Xavier Prep came out aggressive and physical. Their full court pressure caused major havoc for McClintock in the first quarter. Xavier lead 21-9 after one. In the second quarter, McClintock started to settle in after the Gators fell into some foul trouble. At the break it was 32-28 Gators. The 3rd quarter was all Xavier Prep as 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='588731' first='Irene' last='Noelle Guiamatsia'] dominated inside. The Gators would go onto win 66-51 and punch their ticket to the Open Division final four. The 20-5 Xavier Prep Gators will try to knock off the #1 overall seed Desert Vista on February 23rd at 7PM. The McClintock Chargers finish their season with an impressive overall record of 25-3.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Xavier Prep:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 G [player_tooltip player_id='205638' first='Dominique' last='Nesland']: Nesland is one of the best guards in the state of Arizona. Nesland has great body control and is capable of probing the paint to find open teammates or finish through contact inside. From the perimeter, she is a lights-out shooter. Nesland will have a huge offseason in the recruiting world as she already holds multiple division-1 offers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024 G [player_tooltip player_id='205647' first='Maureen' last='Ulrich']: Ulrich is the "Grit" of this Xavier Prep team. She is the first to dive on the floor for a loose ball, out physical an opposing player, and help pave the way for her team to win. She is the type of player that you love to play with, but hate to play against because of how hard she plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 G [player_tooltip player_id='339058' first='Lucy' last='Sanford']: Sanford is an up and coming superstar in the class of 2025. She handles pressure well, can shoot it from 3 and find open teammates for easy baskets. Sanford showcased her ability to perform at the highest level on Friday night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 F [player_tooltip player_id='588731' first='Irene' last='Noelle Guiamatsia']: The freshman big was the story of the night on Friday as McClintock had no answer. Guiamatsia went for 25 points on the night, 16 of them coming in the second half. Guiamatsia is a superstar post player. She finishes consistently in the paint, fights for position and dominates on the boards. Guiamatsia is only a freshman.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 G [player_tooltip player_id='115507' first='Sienna' last='Cherwinski']: Cherwinski is a lethal shooter from the perimeter. She showcased her talent knocking down three huge 3-point shots throughout the game. Cherwinski is a player you have to stay glued to otherwise she will torch you from deep. Cherwinski is going onto play division-2 college basketball at Sonoma State next year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McClintock:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 G [player_tooltip player_id='558894' first='Aiyanna' last='Perkins']: Perkins is as good as they come as a scorer in the state of Arizona. She can handle the ball, score in transition, finish through contact, knock down tough shots from the perimeter and rebound at a very high level. Perkins finished with 24 points on the night against Xavier Prep. She finished her sophomore season averaging 23.6 points a game. If you haven't gotten the opportunity to watch Perkins play, you need to.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023 G Xaria Culver: The unsigned senior finished the night with 10 points. Culver is an athletic guard that handles all of the intangibles on her McClintock team. She is quick laterally and is a menace on the defensive side of the ball; creating deflections and steals that translate to easy transition baskets for her team. Culver is a perfect "glue" player for a college program looking for a guard that can defend, play hard, and wants to win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026 G Lamaiya Woodberry: Woodberry is a long and athletic guard. The freshman went for 9 points on Friday night and showcased her ability to finish inside and knock down shots from the perimeter. With McClintock losing 4 seniors to graduation this year, Woodberry's role will increase tremendously over the next 3 seasons. Perkins and Woodberry will be a scary 1-2 punch over the next couple seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->