By Grace Tanner
“A season of great promise accompanied by despair but never a loss of hope,” as a player. That’s how I would describe the varsity girls basketball season this year. There were some games we thought we had in the bag, only to have them end with a disappointing loss. Still we stood together as a team and played every game as a team. We were determined to go to the playoffs, and, even as our chances dwindled, we did not lose hope, and we played our final game, unlike the other games.
The Saint Mary’s Lady Knights varsity team is coached by Patricia and Cameron Hollerbach, and includes students from all grades. The seniors remain accomplished on and off the court. Coach Hollerbach said, “I would have to say besides all the great stuff that happened on the court, this senior class was exceptional in the classroom. Each senior never fell below a 3.0 GPA their entire time as a student!” When asked about her favorite memory, Coach Hollerbach said, “Senior night is always my favorite game/memory each year. I look forward to this game every season. This season we played Moon Valley, and Alyssa (Estrada) had her career high with 22 points. Every senior scored in this game, and every senior started and finished on the court. Grace (Tanner) finished our season with the last two points!!!” I was lucky enough to finish my final SM season by scoring the Team’s last two points.
The girls started out the year winning against Mohave High School. Varsity scored a total of 47 points and won by almost 20 points. Alondra Reyes, a freshman, was selected Player of the Game and made 18 points. Kristen Keating said her favorite basketball memory is “being able to meet new teammates and grow together as a team.”
The Lady Knights lost their next four games. When they played against SetonHigh School, Cynthia Tewksbury made one three-pointer out of her seven points in total. Francis Moreno made three two-pointers and two free throws. Alondra Reyes made four two-pointers and four free throws. Against Saguaro, Vanessa Barrios made four two-pointers and one free throw. Alondra Reyes was made Player of the Game and made five two-pointers and seven free throws. Against the Panthers at Peoria High School, Cynthia Teskbury was made player of the game who made two three-pointers and three two-pointers. Against Paradise Honors, the Panthers, Alondra Reyes was the player of the game scoring twenty-one points out of the forty-five. Alondra made nine two-pointers and three free throws. Alyssa Estrada made five out five free throws and four two-pointers.
During the winter break, the Varsity team played in two Tournaments. During the Nike Tournament they played against Huntington Beach, Tikigaq, Williams Field and Desert Ridge. The Knights had a win-loss score of 2-2. The next tournament we played was Cactus Jam which consisted of three games. We won all three! On New Year’s Day, the varsity played the Prescott Badgers at the Footprint Arena and won by a score of 50-34. The player of the game was Cynthia Tewskbury, who made two three-pointers, four two-pointers and five free throws.. Olivia Lomeli, expressed that her favorite memories of basketball was, “Playing in the Sun’s arena for sure and also breaking my nose junior year. Cheering for the state basketball game in 2021 was crazy.”
The Lady Knights traveled to San Tan Valley to play the Poston Butte Broncos and lost by the score of 56-47. Alyssa Estrada ranked as Player of the Game, scoring three three-pointers, one two-pointer and two free throws. The Knights played Shadow Mountain Matadors and lost with the score of 45-35. Francesca Drapeau, named Player of the Game, scored two two-pointers and two free throws.
The Lady Knights played Tempe (52-29) which began their three-game win streak. Cynthia Tewksbury was the player of the game. She scored 18 points that comprise two three-pointers, four two-pointers and four out of eight free throws. Alondra Reyes made 16 points with six two-pointers and four free throws. At Thunderbird High School, we won by the score of 47-26. Alondra Reyes was named Player of the Game and scored seven two-pointers and one free throw with a combined score of 15 points. Angelica Tewksbury, a transfered Junior, first game of the season started out well when she made four out of seven free throws and one two-pointer. Impressive performances were also turned in during the Bradshaw Mountain game by Alondra Reyes, who scored 19 points, and Vannessa Barrios, who scored 16 points.
At home against Greenway, we lost by a score of 46-59. Angelica Tewksbury scored three three-pointers and three free throws. Francis Moreno was named the Player of the Game, scoring five two-pointers and one free throw. She also had nine rebounds, one assist and three steals. Losing again to Greenway (30-48), Alyssa Estrada was made the Player of the Game who scored 8 points. The Knights lost against Shadow Mountain (37-66). Alondra Reyes was named the Player of the Game, scoring four two-pointers and eight free throws with a combined score of 16 points.
Playing against the Tempe Buffaloes, we won with a score of 55-49. The Player of the Game, who scored 15 points, was Alondra Reyes. She also had 16 rebounds, seven steals, six turnovers and two blocks. Francis Moreno also made six two-pointers and one free throw. Francis had a total of seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four turnovers. Alyssa Estrada made five out of six free throws and one two-pointer and she had three total rbounds, three assists, two steals and eight turnovers.
Against the Notre Dame Saints the girls started out with an eleven point advantage in the first quarter, but in the second quarter the Saints gained on the Knights. The Lady Knights lost with the score of 34-43. Alondra Reyes for the seventh time this season was selected as Player of the Game and scored 14 points.
The seniors' second to last game, against the Thunderbird Titans,. began with an amazing three-pointer by Alyssa Estrada (the Player of the Game). This was the first of her two three-pointers during the game, and she also made two two-pointers, and she had three rebounds, three assists, eight steals, two turnovers and one block. The last home game, traditionally “Senior Night.” was against Moon Valley.
This year’s seniors set a great example for their underclassmen. Coach Hollerbach said, “This senior class was all about family and cherishing every moment. As a senior, you look back to your freshman year, and it seems like it was just yesterday you stepped on campus. I heard Francesca on many occasions say how fast time flew.”
Each Senior was able to score during the game. Alyssa Estrada, the player of the game, scored four three-pointers, three two-pointers and four free throws with a total of 22 points. She also had two rebounds, five assists, eight steals and three turnovers. Kristen Keating made one two-pointer, four rebounds, one assist and three turnovers. Francesca Drapeau scored one two-pointer and one free throw. She also made four rebounds, two steals and two turnovers. Olivia Lomeli scored two two-pointers, had two rebounds and had two steals. I, Grace Tanner, scored one two-pointer and had one steal. The whole team had a part in the winning of this game. With a minute left in the game, Grace Tanner, went around a player to make a layup scoring the last two points of the season. Francesca Drapeau said later about that night, “The season would have been incomplete if Grace hadn’t scored a basket.” This season win-loss score was 8-10.
This season was filled with amazing memories. Francesca Drapeau said, "My favorite memory of basketball was our trip to Las Vegas. I loved being able to bond with my teammates while playing together and sightseeing. We had a lot of fun!" Alyssa Estrada shared her favorite basketball memory, when she said. “My favorite memory is when we played hide and seek in the gym and it was all dark. just to find Kristen stuck under the bleachers. My mom had to pull her out.”
This season was also full of accomplishments from the girls. Seven girls received the varsity letters (Cynthia Tewksbury, Angelica Tewksbury, Gwen Carter, Maddie Brittian, Sophia Bryant, Grace Tanner and Alondra Reyes.) Cynthia Tweksbury and Alyssa Estrada were named to the Second Team All Region. Also, First Team All Region honors were given to Alondra Reyes.
All in all, the season was a great success, and the coaches saw significant improvement in every player. Coach Hollerbach said about the players as a team, “I would have to say playing as a team and our team defense. We really didn’t have too many games where we had one standout performance. Many of our games were won or played as a team.” The team grew together not only as teammates but as close as sisters.
