A year ago this week, Phoenix Shadow Mountain’s girls basketball team routed Sahuaro by 24 points to advance to the Class 4A state championship.
Shadow Mountain kept it up this year, beating Catalina Foothills and Salpointe Catholic to set up another semifinal matchup with third-seeded Sahuaro.
On Wednesday, the Cougars (28-1) took down Shadow Mountain 64-59 in its home gym, advancing to the state title game for the first time since 2001.
Star forward Alyssa Brown led the team with 29 points and 14 rebounds while knocking down 15 of 19 free throws.
Her performance was another marquee moment in her time at Sahuaro. The 6-foot-1-inch Brown is averaging 31.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.9 steals per game as a junior.
In December, Brown — who holds scholarship offers from St. John’s, Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona, Elon, Hampton, Bethune-Cookman and Maryland-Baltimore County — broke her sister Sydney Harden’s all-time scoring record of 1,575 points. She scored her 2,000th point earlier this month.
“That was one thing I never thought I’d ever accomplish,” Brown said. “When I first started high school, my goal was to score 1,000 points and once I hit that, I thought maybe I’d hit 2,000. Once I hit that, I thought now I’m on the path to hit 3,000. It shocked me and I was very proud of myself.
“My dad was excited and my mom was extremely excited.”
After securing an offensive rebound, Sahuaro junior Alyssa Brown (44) shots a contested shot during Sahuaros 64-44 win over Salpointe Catholic at Sahuaro High School, 545 N. Camino Seco, in Tucson Ariz., on January 28, 2020.
Brown will try to deliver the biggest win yet on Saturday, when the Cougars take on top-seeded Chandler Seton in the Class 4A state title game.
The game starts at 10 a.m. inside Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
The Star caught up with Sahuaro’s star about her upbringing and the season. Here’s what she had to say:
How would you describe the feeling of playing in the school’s first state championship game in nearly two decades?
A: “It feels great. It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s over yet. We still have another game, but it was nice to beat a team who had previously blown us out. It’s very exciting.”
What makes this team different compared to the other Sahuaro teams that struggled to get to this point?
A: “We’re hungrier this year. We’d keep hitting the roadblock in the final four, so a lot of us have been more determined to get past the final four. So that helped us get over the edge.”
How would you assess the junior class on this team?
A: “The group as a whole is very hard-working and we all view each other as equal. No person shows they’re more deserving than the rest. We all just work hard and try to get better, and we all just love each other as a family.”
How would you describe your upbringing and childhood?
A: “I grew up in an athletic family. All of my siblings at one time have played sports and my parents played sports. My dad actually coached my sisters in basketball, so I was kind of born into the sport. I grew up always going to tournaments and being around the gym.”
How many siblings do you have?
A: “Three. I have a younger brother and two older sisters.”
How much older are your sisters?
A: “One is 21 and the other one is 26, so about a nine-year difference.”
Growing up, were you too young to play against your older sisters — or did they embrace making you better?
A: “I grew up playing with boys. Once I developed the fundamentals and the basic skills, they always played with me and we would trash talk each other and were always competing. I just remember a lot of one-on-one drills. My dad would always have us in the gym and I remember my sister, who’s nine years older than me, bullying me and knocking me to the ground.”
Were you a fan of a specific team or player?
A: “I grew very fond of Kyrie Irving and LeBron (James). Once I really started playing basketball, I started to watch their highlights and mixtapes.”
Did you adopt any skills from those guys?
A: “Everything came naturally.”
Looking back, how much did playing with your sisters at such a young age help your development?
A: “My whole foundation is based off that experience. I wouldn’t be the player of my caliber today if I didn’t go through that adversity with working against them and pushing myself harder, because I didn’t have the advantage.”
How would you describe your skill set as a player?
A: “I would describe myself as very versatile. Over the past year, I’ve tried to develop an outside game, and I feel like I can play multiple positions.”
Earlier this season, you broke Sahuaro’s all-time scoring record. How rewarding is that accomplishment?
A: “It was very rewarding, because I’ve always looked up to my sister and she was the one who previously held the record. It was something I’ve been working toward. It was a huge accomplishment for me, especially as a junior.”
When did you realize that basketball is a huge part of your future?
A: “I think I’ve always known that. My dad installed that mindset very early. As I’ve grown up, I always knew this could be an outlet.”
With a tough game ahead on Saturday, what have you seen out of top-seeded Seton Catholic?
A: “We’re definitely expecting a really good game. I expect both teams to battle hard and for the better team to win. I’ve played with some of these players (at the AAU level) so I expect a really good game.”
What would it mean for Sahuaro to bring a state championship home to Tucson?
A: “It’ll be huge. This is (coach Steve Botkin’s) first time going to the state championship. A lot of our players are seniors, so it’ll mean a lot for them. Our school is really cheering for us, and Tucson hasn’t won a state championship in a while so it’ll open some people’s eyes and hype up basketball in Tucson.”
