Valley Vista vs Millennium
Last night was probably the front runner for Game of the Year. It featured two of the top teams in state, Millennium (ranked #1 in 5A) and Valley Vista (ranked #1 in 6A). Throughout the season, these two have been…
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Continue ReadingLast night was probably the front runner for Game of the Year. It featured two of the top teams in state, Millennium (ranked #1 in 5A) and Valley Vista (ranked #1 in 6A). Throughout the season, these two have been at the top of the All-State Power Rankings, taking the #1 and #2 spot. Going into the game, I knew it would be high intensity but I couldn’t have ever imagined what we got.
First off, the crowd was crazy! I have never seen so many people at a game in my life. It got so packed that the school has to stop letting people in and would turn them away at the door. Both crowds were super into the game and the players were feeding off of it. It was really special to see how two communities could come and rally behind their team.
As I predicted, the game was within single digit points the entire way. Millennium definitely looked the be in the drivers seat for the majority of the game.
Starting the game, Millennium looked really strong taking an early lead. However, Valley did enough to remain close with them every step of the way. Ali Zelaya looked almost un-guardable for the majority of the game. Through the first 3 quarters, she was hitting everything. She was scoring in the low post well, hitting the mid-range, and even knocking down some 3’s. I was very impressed by her ability to shoot the ball, especially when being heavily contested.
Jennah Isai looked amazing, especially in the first half. Isai couldn’t be stopped and was finishing very well around the rim. She was the driving force that Valley rallied behind in the first half.
At halftime, Millennium led by 6 and Valley Vista came out strong, stealing some momentum and cutting the game to 1 point to start the 4th.
The 4th quarter is where it got interesting.
The start of the 4th quarter began with Millennium holding the ball for nearly 3 minutes. This is why Arizona needs a shot clock. It isn’t fun to just watch one team hold the ball. In the long run, I think this really hurt Millennium. The crowd almost instantly turned on Millennium and they were heavily being booed on their home court.
More importantly, I think holding the ball for as long as they did hurt their offensive flow. The team really didn’t score too much in the 4th and I think that’s the main reason why. They had a nice rhythm going until this point.
Valley stayed disciplined and locked in defensively, which in turn benefitted their offense. Once Valley took the lead late in the game, Millennium was now trying to play catch up. I immediately questioned whether or not they wish they had those 3 minutes back in their effort to get the lead back. Of course, back seat coaching is easy to do.
Marisa Davis has steadily contributed throughout the entire game but she really turned it on in the 4th. That’s where she became a rebounding machine and was scoring almost at will, driving hard and getting fouled, even converting some and 1 opportunities.
Someone who might not get the recognition they deserve is Olivia Arvallo. I didn’t think the freshman would play too much but she played big minutes, knocked down big shots, got some boards, and played really good defense on Millennium’s Senior D1 guard, Jasmine Singleton. Singleton is one of the top 2020 players in state and I thought Olivia did a great job on her. It was cool seeing a freshman with a ton of college potential against a smart senior guard, who’s going D1like Singleton.
Valley Vista eventually won the game by 1 point and their team and fans celebrated! It was an amazing game filled with a ton of college prospects and two of the top teams in state.