COTTONWOOD — Kenna Cook scored 16 points, Kassandra Vasquez added 10 and the No. 15-ranked Mingus girls basketball team had no problems with Mohave in a 68-8 drubbing on Friday night.

It’s only the first win in the last five games for the Marauders (13-8, 5-4 4A Grand Canyon), which have suffered two devastating injuries in recent weeks.

The first to leading scorer Savannah Tobias (knee), who led the club with 27.8 points per game but was lost for the year after just eight games. The junior is expected to be back for her senior year sometime around October.

Second, Brianka Villalobos (shoulder), who averaged 9.2 points per game and led the team in assists per game with 4.3, is the more recent injury. The junior is expected to have surgery and will be back for her senior campaign.

Mingus head coach Troy Hoke said that games like Friday night give his team a chance to regroup, focus on adjusting the lineup while moving forward without two of their best players.

“We lost two starters, Savannah and Brianka. They are both ballhandlers, so some teams have been able to take advantage of our young and inexperienced [players]. So tonight, just being able to build some confidence, find some passing lanes and watch some young girls step up,” Hoke said. “The ability to create space and get some confidence is huge.”

Hoke said that when you have teams in the Grand Canyon region like No. 2 Prescott and No. 4 Flagstaff, it can prove tough to overcome, especially after his Marauders made a Final 4 run during the 4A state playoffs just a season ago.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but last night against Flagstaff, they built some confidence despite it being a lopsided loss,” Hoke said about the 59-27 loss to the Eagles on Thursday night. “They are starting to build that trust in themselves and that trust in each other. I think the team is starting to come together a little bit.”

Cook said there are girls on the team who have been “stepping up.”

“Everyone is picking it up great. We’re all coming together as a team,” Cook said. “We’ve been doing pretty good considering everything that’s happened.”

Cook added that the team is adjusting well to try and replace the offensive output from both Villalobos and Tobias.

“Move of us scoring evenly [has worked],” Cook explained, stating that only a few players would have all the points, now the whole team is contributing. “We’re spreading it out, looking to get good shots on offense and pushing the ball when we can.”

To her point, Shaylee Graham scored 10 points, Breeze Aispuro had eight points, and Tatum Baker added seven points in the victory over Mohave.

UP NEXT

With Grand Canyon region title hopes dashed due to injuries, Mingus has refocused their efforts on potentially hosting a state play-in round game in February. As the No. 15 seed, there’s certainly a shot at that as the round is set to begin Feb. 19.

But first, Mingus will need to win at least one or two of their remaining four games and hope for the best, otherwise they may out of the No. 9-16 seeding, which means they would travel.

First up is St. Mary’s, likely the best shot for the Marauders to get a victory. The Knights come to Cottonwood on Wednesday, Feb. 4. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.

Mingus hosts No. 11 Estrella Foothills (19-6 overall) on Feb. 5, then has back-to-back road games at Prescott (Feb. 9) and Flagstaff (Feb. 10).

Tipoff on all three of those contests is set for 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.