Alyssa Brown scored a game-high 28 points to help lead Sahuaro past Ironwood Ridge 67-13 Wednesday night at home. The Cougars moved to 2-0 on the year and the Nighthawks fell to 1-1. Brown is the reigning Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year but, despite the final score, Brown had to work hard underneath for every point she earned.

The Cougars employed a suffocating press early on to help build a 22-4 lead after the first quarter and the momentum carried over to a 35-7 lead at the break. Brown had 22 points at the half but Lucky Franke started to get hot and the senior guard hit back-to-back 3’s in the third quarter to help pace Sahuaro to a 59-11 lead after three. Franke finished with 13 points and Sr. forward Lily Watson also came out strong with 10 points to help spread out the Nighthawk defense.

Keelie George scored 5 points to lead Ironwood Ridge and Aspyn Nelson added 3 but some impressive defensive hustle is a better description of their performances.

A running clock in the fourth quarter limited scoring chances but Nelly Ponds hit a 3-pointer in the final period to finish with 7 points for Sahuaro.

The Cougars finished in second place in the 4A Conference last year after reaching the semifinals the year before. The Nighthawks qualified for the post season every year since 2014 but this year might prove difficult for a variety of teams with the 4A, 5A and 6A Conferences only taking 16 teams without a play-in phase.

Sahuaro hosts Casa Grande (0-4) Thursday night and Ironwood Ridge travels to Catalina Foothills (1-0) on Friday.

Brown is sitting at 2,155 career points and she is No. 23 on the all-time scoring list for Arizona:

 

Arizona Career Scoring Leaders: Girls

 

1 Julie Brase, Catalina Foothills (2,913) 1994-1998

2 Kayla Pedersen, Red Mountain (2,611) 2003-2007

3 Christina Wirth, Seton Catholic (2,550) 2001-2005

4 Kayla MacKenzie, Kellis (2,515) 2006-2010

5 Ashley Wirtzberger, Yuma Catholic/Gila Bend (2,505) 2006-2010

6 Alexis Cortez, Tucson (2,479) 2012-2016

7 Nicole Powell, Mountain Pointe (2,478) 1996-2000

8 Shaylee Gonzales, Mesquite (2,385) 2014-2018

9 Olivia Snyder, Green Fields (2,382) 2009-2013

10 Alyssa Wahl, Cibola (2,366) 1999-2003

11 Wendy Woudenberg, Scottsdale Christian (2,295) 2001-2005

12 Haley Cavinder, Gilbert (2,282) 2016-2019

13 Marie Folsom, Corona del Sol (2,270) 1990-1994

14 Desirae Gonzalez, Kingman (2,255) 2012-2016

15 Brooke Jackson, Mesa Mountain View (2,250) 2003-2007

16 Lindsey VanAllen, Mesquite (2,249) 2014-2018

17 Janae Gonzales, Sierra Linda (2,204) 2014-2018

18 Hanna Cavinder, Gilbert (2,192) 2016-2019

19 Dymond Simon, St. Mary’s (2,189) 2002-2006

20 Sydni Stallworth, Palo Verde (2,182) 2011-2015

21 Shawn Coder, Willcox (2,162) 1986-1990

22 Amy Showers, Camp Verde (2,161) 2001-2005

23 Alyssa Brown, Sahuaro (2,155) 2017-Present

24 Bryce Nixon, Arcadia (2,122) 2014-2018

25 Najiyyah Pack, South Mountain (2,119) 2012-2016

26 Sonia Bribiescas, Superior (2,109) 1984-1988

27 Paula Pyers, Santa Rita (2,082) 1980-1984

28 Theresa Wirth, Seton Catholic (2,080) 2007-2010

29 Senya Rabouin, Shadow Mountain (2,070) 2016-2020

30 Kalie Matthes, O’Connor (2,068) 2008-2012

31 Camille Zimmerman, Tempe Prep (2,054) 2010-2014

32 Taneisha Gossett, Flowing Wells (2,043) 1990-1994

33 Taylor Chavez, Valley Vista (2,012) 2014-2018

Lucky Franke got hot in the third quarter. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)