While it did not have the same impact as a state tournament game, a 46-28 victory by Xavier Prep over defending 6A girls basketball champion Surprise Valley Vista in the Thunderbird Summer League on Thursday night (June 10) was good under any circumstances.
“Oh, I don’t
know about any of that (avenging a previous loss). I just love the fact that we
came out, played hard and had fun,’’ said Xavier coach Jennifer Gillom.
The Gators
seemed to be focused from the opening tip.
Sophomore-to-be
guard Sarah Miller in particular was dialed in, scoring 14 of her team’s 31
points in the first half as Xavier built a 20-point advantage at the break.
She drilled
a three-pointer early in the second half as did junior guard Sienna Cherwinski
as the Gators increased their lead to 26 points. Valley Vista attempted to
regain some composure later on, but couldn’t get fully back on track. The
Monsoon are playing without two of their top players, Mikela Cooper and Jennah
Isai.
“Sarah is
becoming a great leader,’’ Gillom said. “You’re going to see that from her more
and more every year.
“She is a
fantastic player. I love her energy at both ends of the floor.’’
Maureen (Mo)
Ulrich, another sophomore guard, is developing into a player who fits in well
with Miller, especially with the absence of sophomore point Dominique (Dom)
Nesland, who has not been available of late.
Incoming
freshman post player CeCe Mlat had another solid effort, and Gillom took
notice.
“CeCe is
really coming along,’’ Gillom said. “She seems to be much stronger than I
thought she would be. I like what I am seeing.’’
Xavier is
now 4-0 in the T-Bird league, and will have just one game next week, on Tuesday
(June 15) against Peoria Sunrise Mountain at 5 p.m.
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