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Ray’s Tara Lorona (#22) leaps to make the shot while Superior’s Anisah Cardenas (#3) tries to block.
The No. 9-ranked Ray girls’ basketball team ended its regular season, winning its last five-straight games, including two games last week against Superior and Duncan.
Freshman Shelby Yocum scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds to go along with six assists and seven steals in the Lady Cats’ 56 – 13 win at Superior last Tuesday. Savannah Rodriguez, a junior, added 12 points and sophomore Tara Lorona contributed with eight points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Ray, which finished second in the 1A East region, behind only top-ranked and undefeated Ft. Thomas, will be the No. 2-seed in the upcoming region tournament. The two teams that reach the region finals will earn automatic berths in the state tournament, which begins Feb. 17 in Prescott.
Ray Cheerleaders
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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