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POSTON BUTTE
Boys’ Basketball – The Broncos returned from the holiday break last week with three games in four nights. Two close losses – to Moon Valley and Dysart – preceded a decisive 58 – 41 victory at Gila Ridge on Jan. 8.
In last Friday’s win, the Broncos opened an eight-point lead at halftime before outscoring the Hawks 23 – 14 second half, which included the Broncos limiting the Hawks to only one point in the fourth quarter.
Senior Preston Anderson recorded a double-double – 10 points, 10 rebounds – in the Broncos’ eighth win of the season. Center Tyson Berringer, a junior, scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
Josh Zaker finished with nine points while Kevin Johnson and Qujuan Steward each added eight. Those five players, all starters, accounted for 51 of the Broncos’ 58 points.
Girls’ Basketball – Like most other schools, the Lady Broncos returned to action last week, but they didn’t have much of a break after playing at Talking Stick Arena and the Valley Christian Tournament during their holidays.
A win against Catalina and a loss to South Mountain was followed by a 78 – 19 home win against Apache Junction on Jan. 8.
Last Friday’s win versus the Prospectors was the Broncos’ first section win of the year in as many games.
QUEEN CREEK
Girls’ Basketball – After losses to Marana and Shadow Mountain earlier last week, the Lady Bulldogs defeated sectional foe Campo Verde 55 – 45 on Jan. 7, notching their first sectional win of the season after starting sectional play with two losses.
Senior Jayden Kartchner was one of three Lady Bulldogs to scoring in double figures in last Thursday’s win against the Coyotes, finishing with a game-high 15 points. Alicia Granill, a junior, added 12 points and senior Kendyl Payne contributed 10.
Kartchner and Destiny Madril, a senior, each pulled down a team-high six rebounds each.
The Lady Bulldogs recorded an astounding 20 steals against the Coyotes, led by sophomore Torri Gillespie’s six.
COMBS
Girls’ Basketball – The Lady Yotes improved to 13 – 5 on the season after consecutive wins against Camp Verde and Parker last week, following the holiday break.
Senior Cydnee Colpaert scored a game-high 17 points to lead Combs to a 43 – 35 victory at Camp Verde last Tuesday. She also recorded a game-high seven steals to go along with six rebounds, tying Ilaria Vesley and Landry Armstrong for the team-high in that category.
In all, the Lady Yotes totaled 18 steals in the win, including five by Kyla Pena and four more by Nikki Ruiz, who also contributed with nine points.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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