has led his team to the Final Four in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome in San Antonio point guard Todd Golden helped lead the Sunnyslope Vikings to a 4A state title coach Todd Golden has guided the Florida Gators to their first Final Four appearance since 2014 Golden has helped transform the team into a basketball powerhouse The Gators are set to tipoff in a rematch against the Auburn Tigers at 3:09 p.m Golden had one word to describe where the journey has taken him: “surreal.” I was just praying that I could find a way to become a Division I basketball player,” Golden said during a press conference Thursday “I would not have believed at that point that I’d be here today.” Golden attributed much of his success and development as both a coach and player to the “really great coaches” he play for He pointed to coaches Dan Mannix – a member of the Arizona High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame – and head assistant coach Steve Rosenbaum whom he played for while attending Sunnyslope High School These were the men responsible for instilling in him the belief that he could be a Dvision I player and he’s done so by developing one of the most potent offenses in the country averaging 85.4 points pr game with an average scoring margin of -15.8 Though Golden says he “would not have believed” that 1 seed team in the final stages of March Madness Mannix said he knew early on that Golden had the right ingredients he was going to do everything in his power to not lose.” Golden said that he became well-acquainted with winning while at Sunnyslope sporting a career record of 77-12 in the years he played for Mannix – a stat that he recalled without a moment’s hesitation As the leader of the Gators men’s basketball team Golden has adapted that same fierce mentality he had as a player into a coaching style that Mannix himself has been more than impressed with “It just amazes me how they run their offense and just how physically tough they are defensively,” Mannix said Florida beat Auburn earlier this season on the road in a mid-season conference matchup The Gators persevered with a spectacular display of offensive prowess With a high level of physical and mental toughness that he originally learned under Mannix and Rosenbaum Golden is gearing his team up for Saturday’s game against his close friend Steven Pearl and former mentor Bruce Pearl Golden coached alongside both of these men while he was director of basketball operations at Auburn in 2014 before being promoted to an assistant role in his final season with the Tigers “You’re going to go out there and do everything you can to take each other out.” While Golden has ascribed much of his success and development to his mentors he now embraces the same responsibility for his players Senior guard Will Richard spoke about the feeling of responsibility he has toward Florida and Golden as a result of being brought into the program following his 2021-2022 season at Belmont and winning at a high level,” Richard said What Golden has done as a representative of “West Coast basketball” has been remarkable and unparalleled in recent history And to think this extraordinary season can be traced back to Golden’s time playing public school basketball in Phoenix over two decades ago A time in Golden’s life that he’s not likely to forget any time soon Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University Staff members are listed here Learn more about what we do and how to find our content on our broadcast Find out how your news organization can use Cronkite News content Sign up for daily headlines [email protected] Creative Commons Privacy statement and designers have captured all sides of the Valley with award-winning and insightful writing and investigative features keep our 385,000 readers in touch with the Valley's latest trends There was an error; please refresh the page or try again There are no events matching your selection The Community Services and Initiatives Division's Community Services Program (CSP) operates three family services centers across Phoenix and access to community resources to help individuals and families address urgent and long-term needs To apply for services, residents can call the Appointment Intake Line ​602-534-AIDE(2433) or 1-866-882-1778 or complete an application in the HSD Community Services Program Portal.​ Family Services Center's work together to identify resources and set attainable goals to improve the person or family's quality of life It's about understanding what someone needs and helping them reach their goals Emergency financial assistance services are available to city of Phoenix residents in crisis situations Funding for rent and utility assistance is limited due to high demand and need within the Phoenix area *Assistance availability is dependent on current funding The following documents will be required when applying for financial assistance:\r\n The following documents will be required when applying for financial assistance: Case management services and short-term financial assistance for move-ins and/or utility disconnection for persons living with HIV/AIDS Submit HOPWA application by contacting the Appointment Intake Line or apply through the HSD CSP Portal Get location and hours information for this family services center These programs aim to help eligible county residents navigate difficult circumstances and restore emotional Learn about Arizona's rent relief and eviction resources If you are a person with a disability and require an accommodation to participate in a City program, service, or activity, requests may be made by calling 602-256-4126 (Voice), Dial 711 for AZ Relay, or by emailing ada@phoenix.gov at least five business days in advance Program documents are available in alternate formats upon request.​ Subscribe to the monthly Phoenix resident newsletter for updates 200 W. Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85003 • Map Contact Form • Phone Directory Do you require an accommodation to participate in a City program, service, or activity? Contact the ADA Compliance Program at least five business days before the event Documents are available in alternative formats upon request. Learn more about ADA Compliance Provide feedback about modernized Phoenix.gov City of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Review our privacy policy and statement of commitment. PHOENIX — To help address the shortage in affordable housing the city of Phoenix is putting up some of its own property to help The city has identified eight lots of land in Sunnyslope to be sold in two packages one located near 4th Street and Dunlap Avenue The other is located on 3rd Street and Dunlap Avenue The properties are appraised at $625,000 and $470,000 respectively and is part of a broader strategy to incentivize private contractors to help tackle the need for affordable housing "We're trying to provide incentives so new private sector landlords will come online and we're trying to put up city property for affordable housing development,” Mayor Kate Gallego told ABC15 The Housing Phoenix Plan (HPP) was adopted by the city council in June 2020 and identifies housing needs in the community — setting a goal of creating or preserving 50,000 homes by 2030 It also adopted nine policy initiatives to explore three of which are focused on the redevelopment of city-owned land with mixed-income housing; the mayor and city council approved a list of city-owned land parcels including the two sites currently up for sale If you want to build a backyard casita for additional housing And we even did a contest with our great architects to come up with free plans to help people do that we're really trying to be creative and nimble about solutions,” Gallego said Do you have a concern in your community or a news tip Connect with us: share@abc15.com Facebook | Instagram | YouTube But the Mayor pointed to the state legislature for hampering the progress made by the city in creating more housing options we passed a model policy to help people build backyard casitas and then we required people to use it for housing and not party houses and short-term rentals,” Gallego said "The legislature then preempted us and said So that took a policy that was meant to encourage housing and weakened it.” She hopes to have a better dialogue with both Governor Katie Hobbs and members of the state legislature to help achieve a common goal of developing more affordable housing options "Phoenix has gotten national recognition for leading the way in new apartments in our country So often the legislature carves out the communities that are not contributing to the solution as much and really focuses on the big cities We could house more people if it was all-hands-on-deck and everyone going in the same direction,” Gallego said Report a typo Todd Golden was always a step ahead at Phoenix Sunnyslope High School in the early 2000s He knew where his teammates would be on the court to set them up for baskets his anticipation resulted in steals and fast-break layups And he mastered seemingly the hardest trick shots possible to change the game "In the 2002 state championship game against Page he made this unbelievable shot as he was falling out of bounds," former Sunnyslope coach Dan Mannix said "He threw it over the backboard and it went in had 16 points in Sunnyslope's 61-55 win over Page for the 4A championship in the 2001-02 season 'The Nestle's (Crunch) Fabulous Shot,' " Mannix said "They had six kids in the country that won That shot led him to a meeting with Shaquille O'Neal Golden is still making magic, now as head men's basketball coach at Florida leading the Gators to the Final Four in San Antonio this weekend Florida will take on Auburn in the national semifinals on April 5 in a battle of No The Gators overcame a nine-point deficit in the final three minutes to beat Texas Tech 84-79 in the West Regional final in San Francisco to secure Florida's first Final Four trip since 2014 In a 2019 interview Golden did with The Arizona Republic after he was given his first head coaching job Golden owed his success to his high school basketball roots playing for Dan Mannix and Steve Rosenbaum," Golden said in 2019 "They gave me the confidence and vision to let basketball take me places They gave me the confidence to be a Division I player." Who wins Final Four March Madness game? Auburn vs Florida picks, predictions, odds Sunnyslope didn't win state his senior year in 2003 but he left the school with a 77-12 record during his varsity career It led him to a college career at San Francisco then a college coaching career that began in 2014 as part of Bruce Pearl's staff at Auburn as director of basketball operations pupil meets on the biggest college basketball stage on April 5 Golden got his first head college coaching opportunity at San Francisco Golden quickly turned the Gators into one of the best teams in the nation but not completely surprised," said Mannix who laid the coaching foundation for Golden in high school "I think he would have been successful in any endeavor he chose to take up It would help him achieve at a high level." competitive kid who hated to lose at Sunnyslope but perhaps the smartest kid on the court during his high school career That 2002 Sunnyslope team that won the title also had Jon Simon in the backcourt with A.J Cooper in the front court alongside 6-foot-3 center Mike Nixon maybe the greatest three-sport athlete to ever come out of Sunnyslope Cooper is now an assistant football coach at Arizona State Former Phoenix Thunderbird coach Buddy Rake whose 2003 team ended up winning the state title remembered how tough it was to prepare for Golden Both him and Jon Simon were unbelievable shooters." Mannix could see how Golden would flourish as a coach then Even though he wasn't a high-twitch athlete He had tremendous self-belief and that's part of his coaching." To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert but he was also a great high school basketball player Golden is a former Sunnyslope guard who was a standout in his playing days Golden had many outstanding plays as he mastered the game of basketball at the high school level including an outstanding shot he made in the Arizona state championship game in 2002 The talented player was awarded a fabulous shot award which was handed out by NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal Golden is just as accomplished of a coach as Monday he defeated the Houston Cougars with the Florida Gators to win the men's college basketball national championship "WHAT WE JUST DID, NOBODY CAN EVER TAKE THAT AWAY FROM US" 🗣️Todd Golden was FIRED UP in the locker room 🔥#MarchMadness @GatorsMBK pic.twitter.com/F42InWGP3k The head coach has been one of the greatest coaches in the SEC recently and he is bringing the title back to what many believe is the toughest conference in the nation Golden has been supported by many, including his former coach in Mannix, who has claimed to be screaming and cheering for his former player from home WHAT A MOMENT FOR TODD GOLDEN 🔥 Youngest head coach to win a national championship since Jim Valvano (37) in 1983 😮 pic.twitter.com/9VSht3cenv Golden, 39, is one of the youngest coaches to lead a team to a national championship Follow High School On SI throughout the 2024-25 offseason and 2025 high school football season for Live Updates and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news To get live updates on your phone — as well as follow your favorite teams and top games — you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App CALEB SISKCaleb Sisk has been a sportswriter in the Dalton He started as a graphic designer with his own company that was and is run through social media and has experience traveling back to his hometown and all throughout the state of Tennessee North Carolina and South Carolina to cover high school sports He has written for many On SI sites and has worked with Rivals in the past He also expresses the enjoyment of writing about multiple sports and topics although his first love for writing has always been recruiting He began contributing to High School On SI in 2025 © 2025 ABG-SI LLC - SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER Florida coach Todd Golden celebrates a win during the NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship game at the Alamodome Monday in San Antonio (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) Norton was enjoying a buggy ride with his daughter north of the Arizona Canal “What a pretty sunny slope.” Norton liked the phrase and named the area Sunny Slope which abutted North Mountain in a rural part of the Valley the name of the city was condensed to one word Sunnyslope brought home its first boys basketball state championship Mike Nixon and Jon Simon led the Vikings to their 2002 state title as players under the guidance of legendary coach Dan Mannix From a state championship to a national championship is now the darling of college basketball after leading the Florida Gators to a thrilling come-from behind 65-63 victory over the Houston Cougars Monday at the Alamodome in San Antonio He is the youngest coach since the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament went to 64 teams to win a national title I’m just really proud,” Golden said in a postgame press conference “I’m proud to be the head coach of Florida I’m proud of the way our players performed I’m proud of the way our staff prepared our guys to become national champions.” those who knew Golden at Sunnyslope marveled at his career ascent “All of my former players are like second sons to me and to see him accomplish what he’s done … to come from a mid-major San Francisco to a blue blood program To go there and in three years do what he’s done “I’m on the verge of tears sometimes when I see him Mannix is one of many basketball mentors along Golden’s journey But one mentor is a little closer to home than the rest: his dad Golden’s love for basketball from a young age fostered a special father-son relationship “He had a basketball in his hand from the time he was probably two or three months old,” Scott Golden said “The greatest thing in the world was being able to watch him play and then coaching him in RAMMS (the Recreation Association of Madison Meadows and Simis) and recreational leagues and then being able to play with him probably when he was in fifth or sixth grade I needed to stop playing because he was going by me already A young Todd Golden poses with the 2002 Arizona 4A boys state championship trophy – one of his first tastes of team success Todd Golden was born and raised in Phoenix He played three seasons on the Sunnyslope varsity basketball team after missing the cut his freshman year Golden won the first state championship in school history his junior season Mary’s coach Randy Bennett grew up in Mesa and played basketball at Westwood High School Bennett was very connected to the Arizona basketball world and loved finding talented athletes from the Valley Bennett and his staff noticed Golden in the process of scouting Brett Collins who later became teammates with Golden at St Golden and Collins played on the same AAU team and Golden’s swagger and confidence stood out and had his hair dyed blonde or whatever he had He’s got some swagger about him.’ So we’re like ‘This guy can probably help us.’ We got to know him and really liked him on the phone and in person.” Bennett told Golden he could offer him a scholarship for his final three years So Golden walked on his freshman year and ended up redshirting He earned his scholarship and played the next four years “I truly believe one of the most important things is that he was really never given anything along the way,” Scott said he was a preferred walk-on and Randy Bennett and Kyle Smith didn’t show him any favoritism; worked him like a dog and I think that has continued on in terms of what Todd brings to the table.” Golden traveled overseas to play for Maccabi Haifa in Israel’s top professional basketball division winning gold on the USA Open Team in the 2009 Maccabiah Games Golden was a co-captain on the team coached by the man he will square off with Saturday: Auburn’s Bruce Pearl for a sales and marketing job in the San Francisco Bay Area before he landed his first coaching job as the Director of Basketball Operations at Columbia University before taking the Director of Basketball Operations role at Auburn rising coach returned to the Bay Area as an associate head coach at the University of San Francisco Golden took over as the head coach of USF and spent three years in that role before Florida gave him a shot following a meteoric rise through the highly competitive coaching ranks kind of amazed that his trajectory has been ridiculous,” Bennett said “This is only his sixth year as a Division I head coach Made it to the NCAA tournament his third year They took a leap of faith and ended up hitting a home run on it Sunnyslope basketball’s 3-year run often overlooked Those guys that make it that early at that level they’re on a trajectory that just doesn’t happen very often but not many make it into this big of a spotlight Golden attended Mannix’s summer camps at Sunnyslope when he was in elementary school where his demeanor stood out to his future high school coach Prior to blowing the whistle and getting everybody organized These other fourth graders are doing little kid things he’s out behind the 3-point line,” Mannix said as he motioned the balls going through the hoop he was so serious while they were messing around “Then he comes to Sunnyslope and right away I could see he had the characteristics that in any endeavor he would have been successful He was highly disciplined in terms of athletics Golden’s competitiveness was evident from a young age and that attribute was contagious on his 2002 state championship team Simon and Golden all knew each other growing up playing RAMMS basketball parent-run recreational basketball league in north central Phoenix Golden’s competitive attitude made him an enemy of his future teammates when playing against them but once they all joined together at Sunnyslope that competitive nature led to the three thriving on a state title run “When we’re in seventh and eighth grade competing against each other to be able to play with him rather than going head-to-head we had the relationship where he’d let me know Let’s lock back in and let’s go.’ Then after the game we went out and grabbed food together and everything’s good It’s kind of a mutual respect when you know the other person wants it as badly as you do.” Todd Golden has carried his passion for basketball from Sunnyslope High to the national stage The Sunnyslope community is tight with many members growing up playing sports together Nixon and Simon and headed by Mannix brought in 2002 will always be remembered where everybody grew up going to his Tri-Star basketball camps as a 7 We had kids who didn’t even make the high school teams who would come back and play in the Tri-Star camp to be able to do it for coach Mannix and knowing what it meant to the Sunnyslope community is pretty amazing.” his teammates began noticing little aspects that hinted he had a future in coaching Nixon and Golden played computer games Baseball Mogul and High Heat together in middle school Golden has translated it to reality with Florida Scott Golden sees a lot of the same winning culture at Florida that was evident at Sunnyslope as Todd creates success with the Gators Golden’s affinity for the game as a coach was first evident during his playing days in high school eventually translating to his ability to teach his players He’s always had a great knowledge of the game He knows the game really well and he communicates that game really well to his teammates and was always a good point guard and leader on the floor,” Simon said his record jumping from 16 to 24 wins in his first two years the Gators made the NCAA Tournament before falling to Colorado in the first round won the SEC Tournament and rode a 10-game winning streak to the Final Four Although Florida has found historic success on the court this season the team has dealt with legal issues off the court including a sexual assault complaint filed with the Title XI office against assistant coach Tuarean Green Green has yet to be cleared from the Title XI accusations but has remained on the Gators’ sideline Florida continued to find success when the ball is tipped After pulling away from Maryland in the Sweet 16 the Gators found themselves down nine points with barely three minutes to go against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight Those endings brought Simon back to a game from their Sunnyslope days “When they made that big comeback at the end (against Texas Tech) it reminded me of a big comeback that we had our sophomore year,” he said “We were down really big at Tempe High School and we kind of came back and made a bunch of 3s and won the game Todd knows how to do it.’ So that’s kind of what I was thinking.” Florida’s late-game comeback against Texas Tech wasn’t the only thing that reminded Simon of his playing days with Golden His coaching style brought back memories as well “He just seems like the same guy,” Simon said and there’s his mannerisms and everything … I can hear him yelling out there I’m just glad that it’s just the same guy that I know.” Bennett is extremely proud of Golden’s ability to remember where he’s from and value the people who helped him get to where he is Mary’s College during its developmental stages and since he graduated the Gaels have made the NCAA or NIT tournament every year and his family share a moment with longtime mentor and former Sunnyslope coach Dan Mannix (right) Nixon had been drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and was playing in the minor leagues Golden took a trip to go watch his high school teammate play “He was the one friend who called up,” Nixon said I’m coming out to watch you.’ He flies up to Great Falls sleeps on the floor at my host family’s house and he just wanted to come out and watch some ball he’s supposed to be doing all these tournaments trying to earn a DI scholarship but he found the time to support a friend who was chasing the dream of playing baseball.” built relationships that will last a lifetime Golden stopped by after playing a round of golf and Mannix turned him over to the kids Golden talked with the campers for 20 minutes Golden’s basketball journey started very young and already consists of a state championship but a national championship before he turned 40 greatly enhanced the young coach’s legacy and to do what they’ve done collectively is just an amazing thing,” Mannix said before the Final Four Douglas Santo expects to graduate in fall 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism and a minor in business broadcaster and reporter at Varsity Sports Show and currently works for Sun Devil Daily [email protected] Marion Blake had one wish: to see the Rock Garden she’s cared for since 1980 receive the recognition it deserves “I’ve seen other places be destroyed that were in this category,” Blake said where an untrained artist puts their heart and soul into something.” has been a fixture on the Sunnyslope mountainside since 1953 It began as the vision of Grover Cleveland Thompson and donated items into a public art masterpiece celebrating his love for the area “People would leave pottery and china outside his mailbox and he would add it into his garden the next day,” said Julia Taggart with the Sunnyslope Historical Society “Everyone wanted to be included in making this.” Thompson’s wife ensured the property stayed out of developers’ hands after his death selling it to Blake on the condition she preserved the garden welcoming visitors and maintaining the space In June, the community rallied behind a renewed effort to secure historic status for the garden a request that had gone unanswered for decades “I remember the comments because I would print them out for Marion and it was like an outpouring of support,” said Taggart “We had over 300 people speak out from all over the valley City leaders granted the Rock Garden historic status adding it to Phoenix’s registry of historic places and ensuring its preservation “This is an element that is unique and special,” Blake said “I think it’s really important for it to be part of our world.” Blake says the designation is not just a victory for her but for the entire Sunnyslope community which has played a part in the garden’s story hear from residents we spoke with about the garden last summer on how they feel now that their hard work has paid off sisters Teagan McIlroy and Shannon McIlroy have been going at it in basketball “It started at such a young age,” said Teagan The constant battling between the sisters molded the two into the athletes they are today They both grew up playing the same sport and are only separated by two grade levels from one another I think it really pushed me to get better.” they’re duking it out against each other on the high school basketball court in practice at Phoenix Sunnyslope Teagan is a senior while Shannon is a sophomore and both are playing crucial roles in the Vikings being an Open Division title contender this season “Now that it’s gotten to such a high level of basketball Sunnyslope sits at 16-8 on the year and was No 6 in the AIA Open Division playoff rankings as of Thursday Shannon is the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.8 points to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game recently surpassing 1,000 career points at the school “They are two of the hardest working kids I’ve ever known in my life,” coach Kristen Clyder said Their synergy together is something I haven’t seen in a long time They always know where each other are on the court.” Clyder’s been on the scene in Arizona for a while starting in the sport in the second grade and then as a player for Sunnyslope in the late 1990s There are only a few girls' teams with regional titles on the banner hanging in Dan Mannix Gymnasium She makes sure the team doesn’t forget that where she was on two Big Sky conference-winning teams and played in an NCAA tournament After coming back to the Valley and taking a teaching job she was lured back to the sport by some former referees who called games during Clyder’s high school career Following eight years as a referee for the AIA Clyder decided to get into coaching after having foot surgery She was hired as the junior varsity coach at her alma mater in 2018 and took over the varsity role last season In Clyder’s first season at the varsity level she helped guide the Vikings to a 20-10 record and a surprise run to the quarterfinals of the Open playoffs “Her impact on the team has definitely played a big role in where we are right now,” Shannon McIlroy said “I don’t think we’d be as far with any other coach She pushes us on days we don’t feel like we need to.” which ended with a loss to eventual state Phoenix Xavier Prep has instilled a sense of confidence in the team and that experience can be leaned on in this year’s playoffs who also recently surpassed 1,000 career points Helping propel the Vikings this year has been its three-point shooting –  four players on the roster have made at least 25 threes Senior Amelia Mickelson is one of those players and is close to hitting 1,000 career points as well Sunnyslope played tough out-of-state opponents in summer tournaments to prepare them for the playoffs with games against top programs like California’s Mater Dei The Vikings have split the series with Goodyear Millennium (currently ranked No 2 by the AIA) and beat last year’s Open runner-up Never before has Sunnyslope won a state championship in girls' basketball The Vikings haven’t even made an appearance in the title game This year is as wide open as the Open Division has ever been since being implemented in the 2022-2023 season “I would say we’re pretty confident,” Teagan McIlroy said All these teams in Arizona have become so familiar with playing them over summer and fall I think our confidence level is up there.” Logan Stanley is a sports reporter with The Arizona Republic who primarily focuses on high school, ASU and Olympic sports. To suggest ideas for human-interest stories and other news, reach out to Stanley at logan.stanley@gannett.com or 707-293-7650. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @LSscribe Junior guard Rider Portela is Phoenix Sunnyslope's best defensive player but he made the biggest play on defense at the end His steal on Cameron Holmes in the final 15 seconds led to Delton Prescott's two free throws 2 Sunnyslope advanced to the Open Division boys basketball state championship game with a 58-53 win over No 3 Goodyear Millennium before an overflow crowd at Scottsdale Chaparral on Wednesday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum for the Open title 2-seeded Sunnyslope made it to the first Open final two years ago when Portela was a starting guard who was not assigned to Holmes until the final minute 12 of 16 free throws and his only turnover came with 10 seconds to play and Millennium having a chance to send the game into overtime with a 3-pointer 3 Millennium tried to get the ball to Holmes Portela was there to get his hands on the ball and deflect it to Prescott who was brilliant in his 23-point performance The X factor for Sunnyslope was senior forward Owen Hillis making a big 3-pointer with 4:09 left in the third quarter that gave the Vikings their largest lead at 35-25 With less than two minutes left in the quarter Hillis got in the paint and scored on a jumper "We have one senior on the team and he's the guy," Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said "He's the one senior and he didn't want to go home He's one of the best teammates in my 16 years (coaching Sunnyslope) we ever had He doesn't care about how much time he gets." This was a tough ending to a season that began with great hope in June for Millennium when it won the toughest bracket of the Section 7 showcase in Glendale against top California teams But the Tigers lost depth in the summer when 6-5 junior Brayden Barrett and guard Tristen Rhodes transferred to Buckeye Verrado They struggled to get to the Open semifinals holding off 5A Scottsdale Notre Dame in a close quarterfinal Holmes and Kingston Tosi tried to carry the Tigers down the stretch Millennium coach Ty Amundsen didn't want to comment as he walked off the court but got a big move-in in junior Kade Snyder who played great defense against the Tigers making it hard for Holmes and Tosi to score inside also impacted the game defensively with two blocks and two steals We didn't shut him down but we made it tougher." SOUTH KITSAP — After nine months of closure the Sunnyslope Road between SW Lake Flora Road and Cynthia Lane in South Kitsap is now open The county crews have finished repairing two failing culverts beneath the road the crew started repairs within the "fish window" established by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to minimize aquatic life disturbance "The 36-inch corrugated metal culvert at Coulter Creek was upgraded to a 20-foot-wide aluminum arch culvert improving the natural flow of the stream through the crossing," the county said the twin 30" corrugated metal culverts at the southern crossing were replaced with twin 36" HDPE culverts." Phoenix is looking to sell eight city-owned lots in Sunnyslope and asking developers to submit proposals for mixed-income housing is listed at $470,000 and zoned commercial Phoenix says at least half of the housing must be for households with income below 80% of the area median Developers can submit written questions to the city until Jan Create single-family and/or multifamily residential infill properties in the Sunnyslope neighborhood that capitalize on the prominent urban location and unique identity The innovative design should create functional and appropriate transitions to buildings adjacent to each lot and the surrounding neighborhood 2. Create development compatible with the Sunnyslope neighborhood and surrounding area, such as compatible scale (height and density), type, historic setbacks, etc. and aligns with the goals of the Sunnyslope neighborhood and stakeholders. A list of active neighborhood and community groups is available at https://nsdonline.phoenix.gov/ Be initiated and completed within a reasonable time acceptable to the city It is the city’s desire that the proposed developments be completed in the shortest timeframe possible Be consistent with all applicable regulations Incorporate and implement elements of sustainability into the design A wide range of sustainability programs and concepts can be found at phoenix.gov/sustainability 50% of the residential and multi-family units will be made available to households with income levels not to exceed 80% AMI city assistance and provide maximum return to the city elect to provide funding or other assistance to projects that create a significant amount of public benefit down payment/rental assistance or other accommodations above and beyond what would be minimally necessary for the proposed project or guaranteed city funding or other assistance for these projects Whether the requested assistance is financial the intended purpose and estimated cost to the city of such assistance must be clearly stated in the proposal Create a design that supports the neighborhood with future participation in the city of Phoenix Gated Alley Program Teams for all over received an invite to compete at the MLK Classic hoping to put their teams on display for a wider audience One of the players involved in the event was Sunnyslope star Darius Wabbington who impressed mightily in a 53-46 win over the De La Salle Spartans also on the defensive side of things as well 245 pounds frame to his advantage to grab six rebounds Going up against a tough team like the Spartans Wabbington knew that he would have to really bring it if he and his team had any chance of winning "They were a really good team," Wabbington said we were sharing the ball and I feel like we came out and we were on our A game And we played really good defense as a team gameplanning for De La Salle star Alec Blair was the main focus for Sunnyslope with the Oklahoma commit cementing himself as one of the Bay Area's best players But with Blair missing the game due to an injury Wabbington and his team were able to change up the gameplan and attack the Spartans where they knew they would be most vulnerable "That was their guy," Wabbington said "We spent all week in practice matching up for him so their bigs were real good and I felt like our bigs and their bigs were battling But while the Spartans were down a player and were forced to use the next man up mentality that did not stop them from making it a battle Getting outscored 17-10 by the Spartans in the fourth quarter crunch time for Wabbington and Sunnyslope was all about staying locked in and adjusting in order to not let the game get away from them and stop the Spartans from completing the comeback "He knows we can play better and he knows that we have that extra level And I feel like he talks to us a lot and we just bought in we practiced all week for it and we just let our work show." the Vikings now improve to 12-7 on the season and have increased their winning streak to four straight games like this are good practice for his future as he has already started to generate a good amount of interest from some top Division I schools in the best college basketball conferences Wabbington is on track to play high level basketball in college and will play in many close and competitive games like the one he played against De La Salle he is not letting the early interest he is getting distract him from the task at hand and that is to ensure that he is the best player he can be for his high school team while making sure to keep his hard work ethic going recognizing that any offers he gets can be taken away just as fast you just have to stay focused," Wabbington said "You can get it taken away just as fast staying in the lab and just keep working." DYLAN GRAUSZA lifelong sports fan Dylan has channeled his passion for sports into the world of reporting always looking to provide the best possible coverage Dylan has since gone on to report on all sports having gained experience covering primarily football Less than 12 hours after suffering its first loss of the season, No. 1-ranked Gilbert Perry (Arizona Republic's Super 10) bounced back with a 77-56 rout of No 2 Phoenix Sunnyslope on Friday morning at Gilbert Highland High's gym 16 nationally ranked Harvard-Westlake 57-54 late Thursday night in the first round of the Nike Tournament of Champions Hoophall West tournament The Pumas lost to Harvard-Westlake by margins of eight and 22 points in two meetings last season when the Pumas went 25-6 on their way to a third straight state title Perry's only loss last season to an in-state team came in a one-point decision in early December to Sunnyslope the program it beat for the first Open Division state championship two seasons ago This was the second time in three weeks that Perry beat Sunnyslope (8-6) which was coming off a 69-53 loss Thursday night to Gonzaga Prep 2-ranked team in the nation (by MaxPreps) out of Washington It came after he made just six of 20 shots and missed a 3 in the final six seconds of the three-point loss to Harvard-Westlake I'm just blessed to have teammates like this and coaches like this It was a collectively strong effort all around by Perry which got great contributions from 6-5 Missouri Kansas City-signee D'Andre Harrison Harrison had 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting Sophomore wing Bruce Branch III added 11 points and guard Dominic Avalos added nine points who play one more game Saturday for the consolation championship in the bracketed The Pumas shot 62% as a team and had 22 assists "I'm really proud of our guys," coach Sam Duane Jr. and play this morning against a really good team Our whole thing today was pride and compete together Duane said he felt Harvard-Westlake was the best defense his team has faced this year 20 showdown in the Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts coming against 6-9 Cameron Boozer and Miami (Florida) Columbus Perry shot 37% from the field and made 7 of 22 3-pointers with Avalos making 3 of 4 Perry made only 5 of 18 shots in the first quarter but we had been off 12 days and I thought the first quarter (getting down 21-11 to Harvard-Westlake) and we just didn't take advantage of them." Sunnyslope took a 19-15 first-quarter lead with 6-8 junior Christian Simmons scoring seven of his team's 12 points He added two more to close out the quarter But he was held scoreless the rest of the game Simmons had one of his best games of the season I feel I can talk more with my teammates on defense." His slam on a breakaway with 6:14 to play cut Perry's leads to 60-51 But Peat then scored on a slam and a jumper and after a Harrison basket on a feed from NoNo Brown who responded with six points and a feed to Harrison for a 3 during a 9-5 run my shots are going in and they keep going to me I'm happy to have great coaches and great teammates and our scout got us right for this game." (This story was updated to add or change a video.) there were big Arizona high school boys basketball statements made from Seligman to Scottsdale and all around Here's a look at some of the highlights during the week: is going to be a tough out in the 32-team Open Division state tournament that starts Feb That was on display Friday night before an electric crowd at Phoenix Brophy Prep where 6-foot-10 sophomore Darius Wabbington blocked three straight Phoenix Brophy Prep layup attempts during a 22-11 first half coupled by guard Rider Portela's 18 points as both schools' student bodies were in full beast mode This is one of the state's best basketball rivalries with students going after each other ahead of the game on social media "I told the guys to just stay within the game," Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said Once Sunnyslope settled down after taking an 11-6 first-quarter lead The Vikings held Brophy to just 11 first-half points Guard Daylen Sharper (14 points) gave the Broncos life with some strong moves to the basket that cut the score to 24-19 in the third quarter before the Vikings reeled off eight straight points playing against some of the nation's best competition in early January This is helping his maturation process on the court "He did a really good job protecting the rim tonight," Ray Portela said Mary's was asserting itself as the best team in 4A Cave Creek Cactus Shadows pulled out maybe the week's biggest stunner with a 69-68 home victory on Thursday night This came two weeks after being dominated at St and a couple of days after a 70-68 loss to Phoenix Arcadia Myles Godfrey's 3-pointer gave Cactus Shadows the lead with nine seconds left against St He grabbed a rebound with 1.4 seconds left then purposely missed the second free throw to force St Mary's to go the length of the court to get a shot off The Knights weren't able to draw iron and the Falcons still had life to win the 4A Desert Sky Region champions Arizona sports: Struggling Sun Devils head back out on road for matchup at Oklahoma State It's been a battle among Cactus Shadows (16-6) and Arcadia for the top spot in what might be the most competitive region in 4A "The win gives a shot of confidence back into our team," Cactus Shadows coach Zach Walshut said "We know we're in the postseason but we're looking to win our last two to cement a top-five ranking "Many feel SM is a 4A state final team so this win allows our team to continue to believe we are as well." behind the incredible play of senior Montae Walker and knocked down nine 3-pointers in a 96-61 win at Grand Canyon and six steals for a 20-7 team that could make some noise at state It was the second game in a row that Seligman scored more than 90 points It also had 80 points in a 42-point win over Ash Fork Best small-school scenarioThe Arizona Interscholastic Association on Saturday morning unveiled its first Copper Division 16-team state tournament bracket and it looks like a classic championship final scenario between top-seeded Chandler Valley Christian and sixth-seeded Gilbert San Tan Charter These are the two best small-school teams in the state with Valley Christian winning the past three 3A state titles and San Tan Charter reloading after winning its first 2A state title last year This tournament comprises the top teams from 3A and will no doubt draw attention as the playoffs get underway on Wednesday and Valley Christian is at home against No If teams can handle the long breaks between games after the first two rounds then they'll have the best chance to win it all After the first two rounds are played Wednesday and Friday next week they have to wait until March 1 for the 5 p.m. championship game to be played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum the Arizona Humane Society closed its Sunnyslope Campus to open a brand new facility near Papago Park the organization has announced it is reopening the Sunnyslope location for adoption and foster services “What seemed unimaginable just six months ago when we moved into our new Rob & Melani Walton Papago Park Campus is now a necessity,” said Dr “Our overcapacity challenges are persistent and chronic and while we never intended needing to utilize the Sunnyslope Campus for adoption or foster operations again it was clear this space could still be a vital resource and lifeline for pets in our community who have no place else to go.” The Sunnyslope location was originally expected to transition into a veterinary clinic for the public without adoption services The reopening of the Sunnyslope campus will help AHS create more kennel space so it will be able to care for more animals and the Marge Wright Veterinary Clinic is also undergoing renovations The animal welfare organization estimates 22,000 animals will come into its care this year alone Hansen said there are many reasons for the Valley’s animal overpopulation problem “The pandemic-era moratorium on non-essential surgery led to an estimated 3 million missed surgeries nationwide We’ve also seen a recent increase in abandoned pets at all of our campus locations,” Dr lack of affordable pet friendly housing and lack of access to affordable veterinary care and it’s easy to see this problem will not be solved in a month all three locations will offer adoptions seven days a week from 11 a.m The Arizona Humane Society says 130 pets entered its doors on Thursday alone all pets have waived adoption fees at all three adoption locations (Sunnyslope See all adoptable pets at AHS here. SOUTH KITSAP — Repairs for Sunnyslope Road between SW Lake Flora Road and Cynthia Lane will start in August The road has been closed since last December when heavy rains caused part of the road to collapse The rains caused a failure of a 36-inch diameter corrugated metal culvert where Coulter Creek ran beneath the road The creek was flowing outside the culvert and washing out the roadbed Subsequent inspections revealed that a second culvert on the same section of the road is also failing and will need replacement More: Heavy rains cause closure on Sunnyslope Road that will last into next year The county's crews are scheduled to begin construction to replace the structures in August upon receipt of pipe replacement materials The goal is to finish the necessary work and restore access to the road by October "This timeframe falls within the 'fish window,' designated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to minimize disturbance to aquatic life," the county said This was the week of redemption in Arizona high school boys basketball From Scottsdale Saguaro avenging a loss earlier this month against Gilbert Mesquite to Phoenix Sunnyslope beating second-ranked Goodyear Millennium a week after losing to the Tigers it showed the parity that runs through this state Sunnyslope-Millennium is emerging as another strong rivalry Sunnyslope defeated visiting Millennium 72-66 on Thursday night with 6-foot-10 sophomore Darius Wabbington (24 points) and junior guard Rider Portela (19 points) leading the way. Last week, Millennium won at home, beating the Vikings 74-66, behind Cameron Holmes' 32 points and Kingston Tosi's 29 points "The guys bought into our defensive plan," Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said and we stressed not letting them get rolling offensively we did a great job of sharing the ball and finding the open man." Here is a look at other key games played this week: Phoenix Arizona Lutheran was down to eight players but found a way to pull out a 49-48 2A victory Thursday night at Scottsdale Rancho Solano Prep 4 in 2A by the Arizona Interscholastic Association the team's leading scorer and rebounder who is averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds Beilke sprained his ankle in a game earlier this week Coach Doug Meyer ended up dressing eight players for the game with everybody getting quality minutes Sophomore Cash Hill led the Coyotes with 17 points and senior Ethan Kayenda held Rancho Solano Prep's leading scorer Ryan Johnson was Arizona Lutheran's tallest player at 6-3 He battled Rancho Solano Prep's big men all night and hit two clutch 3-pointers took two charges and held him to 10 points The Coyotes (16-7) led by a point with 25 seconds left with Rancho Solano (15-8) having the ball Saguaro sophomore comes up bigThe same day he picked up a football scholarship offer from Kansas leading Saguaro to a 75-64 win at Mesquite Junior Justice Hinds had 17 points and freshmen Nas Hailey and Bentley Elrod combined for 24 points moved into third place for most all-time boys basketball coaching wins at the school who has 58 career wins after his team's win Friday night over Phoenix Arcadia has exceeded the the most wins in a season during his Saguaro tenure at 15 In his first season as head coach during the 2020-21 COVID season "Coach (Shawn) Lynch does a tremendous job so any time you can come out with a win at their place means you played a complete game with toughness and grit," Lucas said of the Mesquite win Lucas believes the 4A Desert Sky Region that is led by Phoenix St Mesa Red Mountain pulled out one of the biggest upsets of the week to improve to 15-5 and 5-0 in the 6A East Valley Region The Lions have already matched last season's wins total Red Mountain's 18-9 second quarter keyed the win The Lions will get Mesa again in the final week of the regular season Perry sweeps BashaD'Andre Harrison had 21 points and 16 rebounds to power top-ranked Perry past Chandler Basha 73-62 completing a two-game sweep of its rival on Friday night before an overflow crowd at Perry five rebounds and five assists for the 18-2 Pumas while freshman Lleyton Leonard added 13 points and 13 rebounds Defense keyed the second half after Perry took a one-point leading into the locker room at halftime holding Basha to seven third-quarter points "Thought we made plays when we needed and got stops defensively when we needed," coach Sam Duane Jr. "We made our free throws down the stretch." San Tan Valley Combs (12-10) avenged a 54-49 loss to San Tan Valley Poston Butte on Jan 9 with a 74-60 4A East Sky Region win on Tuesday That was followed by a 65-49 win at Queen Creek Crismon had his ninth double-double of the season against Crismon with 26 points and 12 rebounds he had 16 points and 11 rebounds with three blocks during her freshman year at Phoenix Sunnyslope High School Kaia Pixler woke up in tears with her knee in serious pain She saw a physical therapist friend of the family The initial diagnosis was that the young volleyball player had Ewing sarcoma "We got three different opinions," Chris said I'm pretty sure it's cancer.' The other two was 'We don't know.' It was a dark time for sure 'We're going to send it off to the lab just to verify.'" The family had set up its first chemotherapy appointment for Kaia It's not cancer.' I was just pacing and crying." There was an infection in the leg and surgery was needed Kaia missed her high school freshman volleyball season and the Arizona Storm club season She was in a wheelchair for the first month "I was definitely grateful that it wasn't cancer," Kaia said "But to realize and process that I wouldn't be back for my club season I remember we had a Zoom call with my teammates 'There's a possibility I won't be back at all this year.'" She couldn't put any weight on the leg for a long time after surgery would take her to the gym and toss volleyballs at her just giving her something to do and to keep her mentally in the game she suffered a stress fracture on the bottom of her foot that took six months to heal She had to miss the second half of the club season in her sophomore year Pixler was determined to put in the work to get back on the court and ended up doing so well that she was offered a volleyball scholarship from South Carolina More high school volleyball news: Teraya Sigler a driving force behind Horizon girls' volleyball success She played in 111 sets as a sophomore at Sunnyslope which includes 25 matches so far this season 4 in 6A by the AIA at the end of last week "It was really hard and scary for the family," Sunnyslope coach Amber Geer said an assistant volleyball coach at Sunnyslope has seen how well his daughter has grown during her high school career dealing with the idea she might have cancer and this is how she identifies herself," Michael said "And with her not being able to identify herself that way It was almost like a loss of identity for her She was able to put a little bit more into other activities." High school football news: Arizona high school football: Final scores, schedule for Oct. 17-19 Kaia picked up the guitar and started to play more anything to take her mind off of volleyball "She's overcome a lot of things," Michael said "She doesn't give herself a lot of grace that I think she should to know that she's been through a lot She's able to persevere and get over some hurdles Besides both of her parents coaching Kaia in club and high school volleyball Pixler has come through with a greater appreciation of life and volleyball because they were just trying to figure it out," she said it's all healed.' But there was that nervousness around it behind the powerhouse sister duo of senior point guard Teagan McIlroy and sophomore guard Shannon McIlroy — advancing them to the quarterfinal round of the girls high school basketball Open Division playoffs The Vikings (14-4) haven’t ever appeared in a state title game but their drive showed on the court Thursday night, particularly from the McIlroy sisters who scored a combined 20 points (9 for Shannon “I think it’s so special because not a lot of sisters get this opportunity,” Teagan McIlroy said “It’s just such a cool opportunity to get this far who holds this season’s mark for second-highest points on the team scored a 3-pointer setting the tone for the rest of the game adding several more assists to the team’s tally The McIlroy sisters were joined by junior guard Maggie Luba who has surpassed 1,000 career points at the school who took over the varsity team last season the Vikings made an unexpected run to the 2024 quarterfinals of the Open playoffs where they lost to the eventual state champions and No We play together and that’s our magic bullet.” The Sunnyslope Vikings celebrate their Round 2 Open Division win on Feb 2025.The Huskies (12-6) put up a strong fight throughout the match as well still making an argument for themselves as they go back to the 6A playoffs which start next week. This game marked the last chance for the losing team to go back into their conference tournament Hamilton has struggled to find their footing this season particularly after 6-foot-6 shot blocker Callie “CJ” Hinder transferred from Hamilton to PHH Prep earlier this month the team has now worked to regroup behind forward Sage Henry She has multiple NCAA offers and leads the Huskies in points per game (13.1) and steals per game (2.1).  Henry recorded 20 points including four three-pointers and four field goals The Vikings will continue their push for an Open title against last year’s runner-up 14-seeded Desert Vista Thunder (10-8) next Thursday at 7 p.m. The Huskies will play in the first round of the 6A playoffs This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Sunnyslope girls’ basketball eyes first state title, beats Hamilton Athletes of the WeekArizona RepublicJanuary 5 2024 at 11:26 PM UTC·2 min readJohn Mattingly of Sunnyslope High School and Lyla Strohman of Cactus Shadows High School were selected as The Arizona Republic's high school athletes of the week in polls posted on azcentral.com More than 5,000 combined votes were cast in this week's polls which are sponsored by Diamond Kitchen & Bath was nominated after scoring 43 points in 62-60 win over Brophy and 18 against Heritage Christian in The Classic at Damien tournament in California Other boys' nominees included Lex Clontz who averaged 19 points in his team's 4-0 performance in its bracket at Visit Mesa Basketball Challenge; and Kayden Luke who was named Outstanding Wrestler at the Mile High Challenge in Prescott was nominated after tallying 6 goals and 1 assist in four games since Dec 12 as Cactus Shadows went 5-0-1 during that stretch Other girls' nominees were Aspen McClees who scored 18 points to lead the Tigers to a 40-37 win over visiting Alchesay from Window Rock in the Epic New Years Tournament at Gilbert High School; and Rachel Roderick who scored 17 second-half points for 23 total to lead Camp Verde over Parker 64-46 in the annual Yvonne Johnson Memorial Shootout championship last Thursday This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Vote for The Arizona Republic's high school athletes of the week, Jan. 3, 2024 Top-ranked Gilbert Perry's inspired play Friday night after losing Koa Peat to an injury proved the Pumas still have enough firepower to win a fourth straight boys basketball state championship on the bench cheering his teammates and serving as an extra coach Perry routed Glendale Ironwood 67-45 before an overflow crowd at Perry The combination of Perry's defense and the devastating offensive push from D'Andre Harrison and Bruce Branch III showed this team is well-equipped to absorb the loss of its star Peat broke his right shooting hand in practice Tuesday which will cause him to miss the rest of the state tournament He could recover in time to play in the McDonald's All-American Game on April 1 in Brooklyn But Peat was more concerned about how he could help pick up his teammates I just want to make sure they're in the right spots The Pumas (25-2) are 105-12 since the start of Peat's freshman season They move into a Wednesday semifinal against No which squeezed past a Chandler Basha team without its best player The AIA has yet to set the times for the semifinals a doubleheader at Scottsdale Chaparral's gym who faced Perry two years ago in the first Open state championship game were led by junior guard Rider Portela's 19 points and seven steals Sophomore center Darius Wabbington had 15 points and 11 rebounds And sophomore guard Delton Prescott had 15 points and six assists a Kansas City signee who is one the more underrated seniors in the country had 31 points and 12 rebounds to lead Perry and posting up his man for soft jumpers in the paint one of the best players in the nation in his class Dominic Avalos had 13 points and six assists and NoNo Brown added nine points and seven rebounds forcing wild shots by Ironwood from the beginning as the Pumas quickly built a double-digit lead They got out on the break for easy baskets Junior guard Jayden Cunningham's defense off the bench was big for Perry Guards NoNo Brown and Dominic Avalos were both efficient and steady "We lay our hat on defense," coach Sam Duane Jr. (McKinney) worked his butt off for two years 'This is your opportunity.' And he was ready." Nobody expected Phoenix Mountain Pointe to be playing basketball in March a game away from playing for the 5A state championship Mountain Pointe advanced to the semifinals beating Gilbert Campo Verde 60-53 behind another double-double by freshman Marcus Isaac who has had a double-double in every playoff game "He anchors our defense and gives us a weapon that few in the state have in a two-way big man," coach Kaimarr Price said and are now in the 5A final four after being an Open qualifier." 2 Waddell Canyon View in Wednesday's 7 p.m High school sports: The Gregory School battles through adversity to repeat as 1A boys basketball champion 28 in the Open before losing its first-round game to O'Connor will face Metro Region-rival Phoenix Carl Hayden at home as the 5A 4 seed in the other semifinal 1 Surprise Willow Canyon 77-74 on Friday night Falcons coach Rodney Brown has pressed all the right buttons with this team getting through through two tough road games in Tucson to reach Friday's quarterfinal Carl Hayden didn't get home until 12:30 a.m Thursday and had to be at school the next day The Falcons had one practice to prepare for the top seed Junior point guard Joseph Lindsey led the upset with 28 points and Prince Cash 12 points and eight rebounds but that was before transfers John Mattingly Dominic Rojas and Anthony Maciel became eligible Carl Hayden lost the second meeting against Central with those three guys on the court As much as it is a surprise to find Carl Hayden in a state semifinal it's even more shocking to find El Mirage Dysart playing in a 4A semifinal Keegan Cook's team will be playing a Monday night semifinal at defending 4A champion Glendale Deer Valley which defeated Cave Creek Cactus Shadows 71-57 Prescott needed overtime to hold off American Leadership Gilbert North 54-48 Mary's rolled past Tucson Salpointe Catholic 78-54 Mary's mind after losing its season opener at Prescott 68-50 when guard Uriah Tenette lit up the Knights with 31 points (This story has been updated to add or change a video.) The Arizona Humane Society announced on Wednesday that it has reopened its Sunnyslope location for adoption and foster operations This comes as an estimated 22,000 animals are expected to enter the Arizona Humane Society’s shelters this year The organization has seen a 25% increase in calls reporting cruelty or asking to surrender a pet President and CEO of the Arizona Human Society "This problem will not be solved in a month Located off of West Hatcher Road and North 13th Avenue the Sunnyslope Campus will "create more open kennel space for sick injured and abused pets," according to the Arizona Humane Society Amidst overcapacity challenges, all three Arizona Humane Society Campuses are waiving all adoption fees for every cat, dog and critter now through Sunday, Oct. 6th. Interested future pet owners can look at adoptable pets here According to their Ethical No-Kill Philosophy the Arizona Humane Society "never euthanize[s] a pet for space or length of time," adding to the reasons why the organization is working to increase adoptions The Arizona Humane Society thanked PetSmart Charities for their assistance in renovating the Sunnyslope campus ahead of the reopening Joe Rondone/The Arizona Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Koa Peat and Perry High School (26-2) are one win away from completing a four-year dynasty atop Arizona boys basketball like the state has hardly ever seen Peat is playing through a fractured shooting hand and Perry has to defeat formidable Sunnyslope (21-8) for the third time in three tries WATCH: Perry vs. Sunnyslope in state championship on NFHS Network 13 thanks in part to holding the Vikings to 18-65 (27.7%) shooting Sunnyslope won the first quarter 19-15 before getting blown out from the second quarter onward Peat, a 5-star McDonald's All-American and 6-foot-8 power forward with 31 Division I offers broke his hand some time around the end of February and was initially expected to be ruled out for the season But he was cleared to play through the pain in time to score 16 points off the bench and help lead the Pumas past O'Connor in the semifinals 76-57 This is how Koa Peat still impacts the game with a broken hand pic.twitter.com/DLpbK9TSFT Other top Pumas include 3-star senior forward D'Andre Harrison (Missouri-Kansas City) Sunnyslope features 5-star sophomore center Darius Wabbington who stands 6-foot-11 and leads the team with 14 points He's also a legit perimeter threat with 25 made threes and 1.9 APG 1.0 blocks) and sophomore point guard Delton Prescott (12.3 points Also keep an eye out for 6-foot-8 junior forwards Kade Snyder (8.8 points 5.8 rebounds) and Cristian Simmons (6.9 points) the latter of whom had 17 points on 7-12 shooting in the teams' last meeting Sunnyslope enters on a nine-game tear after starting the season 12-9 Here’s everything you need to know about live streaming Perry vs Sunnyslope will air live on the NFHS Network You can subscribe to NFHS Network on a monthly basis or an annual subscription The game will be played at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix A graduate of The USC Marshall School of Business Smith dabbles in linear algebra and football and basketball computer rankings If you buy something through a link in this article Pricing and availability subject to change 2025 at 4:08 AM UTC·3 min readJunior guard Rider Portela is Phoenix Sunnyslope's best defensive player His steal on Cameron Holmes in the final 15 seconds led to Delton Prescott's two free throws "This time we're going to win." "We have one senior on the team and he's the guy," Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said "He's the one senior and he didn't want to go home He's one of the best teammates in my 16 years (coaching Sunnyslope) we ever had He doesn't care about how much time he gets." Millennium coach Ty Amundsen didn't want to comment as he walked off the court "Holmes is really good," Wabbington said "He's going to have a career at this We didn't shut him down but we made it tougher." before we were famous for our seemingly endless streaks of hundred-degree days or skyrocketing housing costs the city was known as the last bastion of hope for tuberculosis patients scores of people battling the disease flocked to the Valley where the climate was believed to provide relief from TB’s debilitating symptoms but many found refuge in a series of religious missions The missions couldn’t offer much in the way of formal medical procedures but they did their best to make so-called "lungers" comfortable or at least distract them from their illness says the so-called Desert Mission also played an unlikely role in the history of ceramics DOBBINS: The minister who who ran the mission he was always out raising funds and finding things for people to do you know how it was made and he found out that Horine was actually would go out to .. teach people how to make the pottery and sell them like a turnkey operation So Hillhouse thought this would be a good thing for the people in Sunnyslope And he asked Horine if he would come out and show him how it's done what was specific about this particular way of making pots would have been used molds where you break open the two halves So he patented a process that it was generally built on a wheel — like a potter's wheel but without He would start with a pile of wet sawdust covered with cheese cloth and then cover that over with a thick layer of concrete And then turn the wheel while he had a template that he would press against the concrete to get rid of the excess concrete to shape the outside of the bowl So before we get to the distinctive color element of this pottery it does seem like one of its benefits is that it was made of incredibly tough material But the distinctive quality of it is the color scheme most of them are done in a variety of colors from one to eight or so .. very brightly colored and in swirls and different patterns he would make his own concrete slip and then grind minerals of different colors into that slip it would actually form right in into the pot it's different than some pottery where you're painting the dried pot It's almost like he was dying the concrete he would apply the different colors while he moved the pot he actually had a device for a patent that combined like four different colors at once to the four different colors So there's all kinds of combinations based upon the upon the speed that that the pot is being turned and the angle that it's being turned at and what combination of colors are being used So Hillhouse is exposed to this form of pottery that Horine has literally patented DOBBINS: The people really took to it and they made a lot of pottery Which is that it turned out that even though the patients started making the pottery as a way to pass the time while they were hopefully recovering from tuberculosis there was some thought that the process of making the pottery might actually worsen the symptoms because of the dust from the cement and they made it indoors for the most part authentic Sunnyslope versions of the pots are particularly rare Because it's a little hard to tell because I'm pretty sure no one marked them I only have one that I think might be from Sunnyslope It has an old piece of masking tape on the bottom and somebody wrote in Arizona So they just seem like kind of the ultimate Phoenix artwork Because it's always extreme circumstances to live out here in the desert Horine tried to take it one step further and make the make the cement using desert sand No. 1-ranked Gilbert Perry, No. 2 Phoenix Sunnyslope and No. 3 Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor (Arizona Republic Super 10) got a rude awakening on the first day of the Nike Tournament of Champions/Hoophall West Thursday at Gilbert Highland High School was the most surprising setback among the top three Arizona high school boys basketball teams With 5-star forward Koa Peat having an off night offensively 16 nationally ranked Harvard-Westlake defeated the Pumas 57-54 as Peat missed a 3-point attempt with six seconds left before a near-capacity crowd 8-ranked 2025 prospect in the country by ESPN before D'Andre Harrison helped rally the Pumas to take a 33-32 halftime lead but he had only four points after the break going up against an oak tree in 6-foot-9 Barron Linnekens but was able to make it uncomfortable in the paint for Peat to do a lot of damage helping Perry hang in with a Havard-Westlake team that beat Perry twice last season in national events Sunnyslope can't keep pace in 2nd halfNash Parmley's 3 in the final seconds of the first half enabled Sunnyslope to tie No started the second half on a 19-5 run and it was over but the Vikings (8-6) found out a lot more about themselves with 6-10 sophomore Darius Wabbington going up against Virginia Tech-bound 6-10 senior Christian Gurdak of Gonzaga who had eight points and seven rebounds in a 17-8 first quarter Gurdak spent much of the game in foul trouble but he didn't have to be in the middle with Derek Dixon (13 points two steals) and 6-5 William Harper (15 points on 6-of-9 shooting) too explosive Gurdak finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds "We always try to challenge ourselves a little big," Sunnyslope coach Ray Portela said These teams do a great job of exposing our weaknesses." feels facing the toughest competition in the country "is going to open our mind up." 5-ranked boys basketball team in the nation had no trouble defeating Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor 58-42 on Thursday in the first day of the Nike Tournament of Champions Hoophall West event at Gilbert Highland High School was coming off a 56-55 overtime loss to California's Roosevelt which jumped to the top ranking in the nation this week by MaxPreps Roosevelt started the national basketball showcase being held in the East Valley with a 77-59 rout of Nevada's Coronado it was the third loss suffered against a top out-of-state opponent this season Even without injured 6-foot-4 junior point guard Brandon McCoy (ranked No 2 overall nationally by ESPN in the 2026 class) John Bosco (15-1) raced out to a 14-1 lead before Michael Simcoe hit a 3-pointer for the Eagles with eight seconds left in the first quarter "I'd say overall they had a pretty good game plan for us," said the 6-8 senior Simcoe "I also think we haven't used these baskets before O'Connor, which figures to challenge top-ranked Gilbert Perry (Arizona Republic Super 10) for the Open state title this year made only 1 of 14 shots in the first quarter and 4 for 11 in the second quarter having to try to dig out of a 31-18 first-half hole hitting just the 3 near the end of the first quarter After the Braves built a 20-point lead midway through the final quarter Simcoe scored six of his 11 points during a mini-run that cut it to 14 with 2:23 to play The Braves' length and athleticism bothered O'Connor which got outrebounded 42-34 and got outscored in the paint 44-6 doing a great job on making it difficult for Simcoe to get easy looks I made sure I took the time to find my guys and not force anything." Wing Colton Watson led O'Connor with 12 points Point guard TayVion Wilson added nine points and 10 rebounds but he missed all six of his 3-point tries made 2 of 4 3-pointers and hit 4 of 9 field goals overall We have to be ready for tomorrow and come back "I think it's a good experience that we'll never forget O'Connor will take on Roosevelt on Friday at 3 p.m. in a round robin game of the Hoophall West O'Connor coach Josh Cole said his team shot the ball well in practice Wednesday it was difficult to get shots to fall early John Bosco shot 43% from the field but made only 2 of 18 3-pointers "O'Connor got done with a really hard tournament But there are lots of good teams in this." It looks like everybody in Arizona is going to be chasing three-time defending state champion Gilbert Perry (11-0) this year Perry is part of the Hoophall West eight-team bracketed field and was taking on another California powerhouse "I think we want to hang our hat on the defensive end (Check back for tournament updates at azcentral.com)