AIA pickpockets: leading stealers by numbers

Ten girls proved their defensive abilities this past AIA season by leading the state in steals. Atop the list was 1A<strong> </strong>Salome senior <strong>Esmerelda Mendoza</strong>, who averaged 9.0 steals per game, according to MaxPreps. She was one of seven seniors on the list, the most of any class in the top 10. Behind her for second overall was <strong>Mat’tanaya Vital</strong>, a sophomore from 4A Amphitheater. There are three 4A players on the list, the most of any conference. The following girls collected the AIA season’s highest steal totals: <ul> <li><strong>Esmerelda Mendoza</strong> - sr - Salome - 9.0</li> <li><strong>Mat’tanaya Vital</strong> - soph - Amphitheater - 6.3</li> <li><strong>Janae Byrd</strong> - soph - Verrado - 6.3</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135744" first="Nizhoni" last="James"]</strong> - sr - Valley - 5.8</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135696" first="Nicole" last="Castellanos"]</strong> - sr - Odyssey - 5.8</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="112671" first="Senya" last="Rabouin"]</strong> - sr - Shadow Mtn - 5.7</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135734" first="Madison" last="Chappell"]</strong> - sr - Holbrook - 5.5</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="135732" first="Cayli" last="Miles"]</strong> - sr - Grand Canyon - 5.4</li> <li><strong>Ranona Nez</strong> - sr - Valley - 5.3</li> <li><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="136293" first="Kiana" last="Ortiz"]</strong> - jr - Palo Verde - 5.2</li> </ul>