On the final day of the month, Salpointe Catholic can cap a fantastic February with a pair of state basketball championships.
The Lancers’ boys and girls basketball teams will play for Class 4A state basketball titles in back-to-back games at Phoenix Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The girls will take on Flagstaff at 6 p.m., with the boys’ game against Gilbert Mesquite to follow.
It’s been a remarkable winter so far for the Lancers, who won state championships in both boys and girls soccer — with the girls scoring in the final minute of regulation in the final and then winning in penalty kicks.
The Lancers are, at least on paper, the better teams heading into Monday’s basketball finals. The girls are seeded second, while Flagstaff is fifth. The boys team is seeded first, with Mesquite sixth.
Kylee Callahan leads Salpointe's girls team with an average of 16.2 points per game.
Salpointe’s girls are led by senior Kylee Callahan, who leads the team with 16.2 points and 3.3 steals per game. Freshman Taliyah Henderson chips in 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while senior Tessa Hastings adds an average of 9.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals. She scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting in the Lancers’ 42-29 semifinal win over Chandler Seton Catholic.
Senior Dillan Baker leads the Lancers’ boys team with 14.9 points per game while chipping in 5.5 rebounds per game. Senior Julian Riesgo adds 12.1 points and 3.3 steals per game, with junior Canyon Torres (11.8 ppg) and senior Brett Rosenblatt (10.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg) average double-digit points per game.
Monday night marks the second-to-last day for Southern Arizona basketball games this season. Tuesday, Flowing Wells’ top-seeded girls team faces No. 3 Goodyear Millennium at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 6 p.m.
