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The Arizona Republic’s girls’ high school basketball players of the week: Jan. 30

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The Arizona Republic’s girls’ high school basketball players of the week: Jan. 30


January concluded with a busy week in Arizona girls’ high school basketball, full of explosive scoring outputs and heroic performances in big games. Here are the top players of the week in the state:

Trinity Alfaro, Surprise Highland Prep: Alfaro scored 27 points in a win over Tucson San Miguel and 20 in a win over Phoenix Christian. Her minutes were limited by an illness in a rematch with Phoenix Christian three days later, but still managed to contribute 10 points and five steals as Highland Prep fell, 33-30.

America Cazares, Tucson Pueblo: It’s been a somewhat rocky season for Pueblo after reaching the heights of the 4A championship game last winter. Cazares, though, has done her part. This week, she scored 25 in a blowout loss to Tucson Salpointe Catholic, 31 in a win over Tucson Cholla and 26 in a win over Tucson Canyon del Oro.

Naylissa Charles, Coolidge: It’s now six straight wins for Coolidge, which is up to No. 6 in the AIA’s 3A rankings. Charles led the way on Tuesday in a rivalry win over Florence, dropping a career-high 30.

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Eanae Dagons, Phoenix Desert Vista: Dagons scored 17 points in Desert Vista’s impressive, 68-59, win over Gilbert, but it was on the defensive end where her efforts stood out most. She finished the night with eight steals.

Boys’ high school basketball news: Did Valley Christian basketball violate AIA bylaw with star Luke Shaw playing in Italy?

Bri’Ann Felix, Glendale Copper Canyon: Felix’s dominant season continued in a 3-0 week for Copper Canyon, which is right on the fringe of 5A playoff qualification. She averaged 28 points, 11.3 rebounds and 6.3 steals.

Navae Guidry, Gilbert Mesquite: Guidry stepped up over the past week with a handful of Mesquite’s top players out due to a self-imposed suspension. In a win over Phoenix Arcadia on Monday, she hit the 1,000-point mark for her career. That came just four days after she had a game-high 16 in Mesquite’s crucial, 40-37, win over Chandler Seton Catholic. If this team falls out of the Open, they’re the favorites to win the 4A crown. Guidry is a major reason why.

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Elli Guiney, Goodyear Millennium: Millennium has had no shortage of thrilling games this year. The latest example came on Friday, when the Tigers escaped Waddell Canyon View with a triple-overtime win. Guiney led the way with 30 points and eight boards in the contest.

Clara-Mae Hrouch, Tucson Catalina Foothills: Hrouch is averaging 21.9 points in Catalina Foothills’ seven-game win streak. She also has at least four assists in each of her last five games, helping the Falcons tick. After a tricky start to the year, they’re now 15-9.

Tianna Knighton, Phoenix Arcadia: Knighton scored at least 34 points in each of Arcadia’s three games this week. It hasn’t been an easy season for the Titans but that hasn’t stopped Knighton. She’s the state’s second-highest scorer at 27.4 points per game.

More high school sports news: Liberty’s Ryan Denhof wins Gatorade Player of the Year for boys cross country

Michelle Kogbara, Peoria: Kogbara was a double-double machine this week, averaging 20 points and 15.6 rebounds in three games. The standout performance came in a 36-32 win over Avondale Agua Fria, when she finished with 23 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

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Maggie Luba, Phoenix Sunnyslope: This week brought two of the biggest games of the year for Sunnyslope: Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor and Phoenix Pinnacle. Luba stepped up big in both, scoring 13 to lead the Vikings to an upset win over O’Connor and 25 in a narrow loss to Pinnacle.

Ava Pautz, Notre Dame Prep: Notre Dame Prep’s recent dominance has been such that its starters haven’t had to play the fourth quarter in weeks — even on Tuesday, in a seemingly tricky matchup against Gilbert Higley. Despite that limited floor time, Pautz is averaging 17.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists over her last fout.

Aviana Scharfenberger, Coconino: Scharfenberger was the star on Tuesday in one of the biggest games of the 4A season, when she scored 20 points to lead Coconino past Prescott, 59-55. The win established them as one of the top teams in northern Arizona.

Amber Shorten, Phoenix Central: Lia Sims might be Central’s biggest star, but Shorten stepped up in support this week. In a win over Phoenix Metro Tech on Wednesday, she recorded her first triple-double, with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.

Nemo Sidhu, Goodyear Estrella Foothills: Sidhu continued her impressive freshman season against Glendale Deer Valley, hitting a new career-high with 29 points.

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Dylan Swindle, Phoenix Desert Vista: Along with Dagons, Swindle was key in Desert Vista’s win over Gilbert. She led the Thunder with 19 points in that contest, and went 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.

Alaysia White, Coolidge: White put together an obscene stat line in Coolidge’s blowout win over Globe. She finished with 32 points, 20 rebounds and 14 steals, and is now averaging 19.8 points and 13.6 rebounds per game on the year.



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Cardinals Must Make This Offensive Change

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Cardinals Must Make This Offensive Change


The Arizona Cardinals had more than one hole in their offense in 2024.

Plenty has already been made about WR Marvin Harrison Jr.’s underwhelming rookie season, and the overall meager passing results from QB Kyler Murray in offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s scheme.

But one overlooked position on the offense this past season was the role of slot receiver. While starting slot man Greg Dortch has certainly shown plenty of ability in years past, he was only afforded 310 snaps on the year, 206 in the slot itself.

He only had 342 yards to show for it, and 144 of those yards came in the final four weeks of the season.

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Again, this isn’t a total knock on Dortch as a player. He rightfully earned the starting slot role with some excellent performances in very limited action in 2022 and 2023.

But the Cardinals’ utilization of the slot position as a whole was a bit unconventional. Rather than sticking with the speedy, agile Dortch (despite naming him the starter), the Cardinals gave 340 slot snaps to Harrison and Michael Wilson.

Then, there’s the elephant in the room. Star TE Trey McBride took 303 snaps in the slot, as opposed to only 233 as the inline tight end.

I know, I know. If it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. But the truth is, seeing more production out of a true slot receiver could actually help McBride unlock some higher quality looks, especially out of an inline set.

And the inverse is also true. The more snaps McBride gets as an inline tight end, the more opportunity there will likely be for whoever mans the slot position next to him.

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Now, think about what that means. Could it mean a bigger year for Dortch (if Arizona chooses to re-sign him), or whoever they might consider upgrading at the position? Sure.

It also opens opportunities for others.

Wilson and Harrison could see production benefit highly if McBride isn’t the one lining up in the slot every time. For receivers who might have more of an agility-based skillset than a lightning fast one, the middle of the field offers many opportunities, especially if the biggest star on the field is bringing confusion to the coverage.

Again, this doesn’t mean the Cardinals should limit or change McBride’s role, but drawing up more plays for a top-end receiver in the slot can help draw DBs away from the star, or even pull linebackers away on rushing or play-action downs.

While Petzing doesn’t spread his receivers out often, it could be an aspect of his scheme that would help unlock the potential of all involved, or even bring more monstrous numbers to McBride’s resume.

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Arizona could re-sign Dortch, bring in an external option, or simply utilize the slot position more by giving Harrison and Wilson more looks there.

It might not be a point of emphasis, but it can only help expand Arizona’s playbook, and could get more quality looks for their stars, making life easier on Murray in the process as well.



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Failing facilities lead to new investment from Arizona Cardinals

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Failing facilities lead to new investment from Arizona Cardinals


The NFLPA report card may be the best thing that could happen to the Arizona Cardinals.

Sure, it makes it look like the franchise is not run well, but it also is the most public criticism from those within the company we can see.

So, when the grades came out this week, and it was bad, it made sense that the Cardinals dropped their first information on the $100 million plan to upgrade things.

Josh Weinfuss broke it down well:

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– Arizona wasn’t planning on announcing the renovation on Wednesday but the NFLPA’s team report card pushed their hand a bit.

– The Cardinals are still in the very early phases of the project, as in I’ve heard ground hasn’t been broken yet.

– The team is acutely aware of where its deficiencies are: facilities. The grade for its cafeteria dropped from a D to a D-. Its locker room dropped from F to F-. The training room went from a C- to a D-. And the weight room from a C- to a F.

– As one source said to me, so many young players on the Cardinals roster are used to the luxurious facilities they came from in college, where they didn’t have to wait to use a machine in the weight room or could get custom meals.

– One young player last season told me it was “weird” to see the Cardinals’ facilities compared what he had in college.

It goes to something we have been discussing, that this is all reactionary, with little to no vision for the immediate or the future.

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Again, the last update was a $15 million investment in 2015, for a building that was built in 1990.

Even the $100 million earmarked is going to be interesting to see how it is fleshed out.

For instance, are they spending $100 million on the practice facility? Think about the Georgia Bulldogs spending $80 million on their football facility, Oregon spending over $68 million on their facility.

So, will that money be towards the Tempe facility, or also used to create an actual locker room for the home team?

Of course, as we asked yesterday, who will even be around to reap the benefits of the upgrades? 2027 means at the Cardinals normal pace, they’ll have a new coach and a lot of roster turnover.

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Hopefully the one positive on the Cardinals NFLPA grades, Jonathan Gannon is able to continue to be here and will see the improvements.



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FAA investigates after third skydiver dies in 2 months at Arizona facility

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FAA investigates after third skydiver dies in 2 months at Arizona facility


Meet a 102-year-old veteran who went skydiving

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Meet a 102-year-old veteran who went skydiving

01:37

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Authorities in Arizona are working with the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate deadly skydiving incidents after three people in two months faced issues while descending into the air.

The most recent skydiving tragedy occurred on Feb. 16 when an unidentified 47-year-old man died at about 2 p.m. near Skydive Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Witnesses said he was a “very experienced skydiver,” the sheriff’s office said. No foul play is suspected.

A similar incident occurred earlier this month after a 46-year-old man died at the same facility when his parachute did not deploy during a free fall, the Eloy Police Department said in a Facebook post. In January, a 55-year-old woman also died after complications with her parachute at Skydive Arizona. 

A spokesperson for the FAA said the agency’s investigations of skydiving accidents focus on inspecting the packing of the parachute and reserve parachute, and flight rules for the pilot and aircraft. The FAA does not investigate to determine the cause of the event.

The FAA looks into every skydiving mishaps that’s reported to the agency.

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Many skydiving accidents occur because of the jumper, according to the United States Parachute Association. The group says that “oftentimes an experienced skydiver who is pushing the limits — makes an error in judgment while landing a perfectly functioning parachute.”

In 2024, nine people died from a skydiving-related incident across the country, the United States Parachute Association reported.



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