Republic’s All-Arizona Girls Basketball Team
Here is The Arizona Republic’s All-Arizona girls basketball team. This consists of the 12 Girls Basketball of the Year nominees and honorable mentions for the 2020-21 Arizona Interscholastic Association high school winter sports season. The Girls Basketba
Barcello led Seton Catholic to a state-best win total at 20-1 and won back-to-back 4A titles. The BYU-bound Barcello was Seton’s best offensive and defensive player who averaged 15.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 4.1 steals and just 1.7 turnovers per game.
Johnson helped make Casteel into a 5A title contender in its best season ever, leading the team to a 16-1 record. She was the Colts’ centerpiece as they reached No. 1 in the Super 10 poll before their season ended on a forfeiture in the conference tournament’s first round after playing against Phoenix Paradise Valley. Johnson, who is committed to Colorado State-Pueblo, was the state’s sixth-best scorer at 22.1 points per game. She also posted 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game is Casteel’s all-time leading scorer at 1,462 points.
The Republic’s two-time All-Arizona Girls Basketball Team selection and incumbent 2020 Player of the Year finished her high school basketball career ranked second on the state’s all-time scoring list at 2,680 points. Brown also had the state’s highest scoring average for the second consecutive season. The UNLV-committed Brown averaged 30.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 1.7 assists per game. She led Sahuaro to a 17-2 record and No. 6 in The Republic’s final top 10 team rankings before losing in the 4A playoff semifinal to Salpointe Catholic.
Lopez has lots of moxie to compensate for her undersized 5-foot-3 frame. She held the state’s second-highest scoring average at 25.8 points and was ranked second on her team grabbing 6.1 rebounds. Lopez also produced 3.5 assists and 4.8 steals. Youngker missed the 4A state playoffs this season, but Lopez’s impact is statistically undeniable.
Marisa Davis, Surprise Valley Vista, F, Sr. The Washington-committed Davis and two-time All-Arizona selection who led Valley Vista to its fourth 6A state title in five years. The 6-foot-1 Davis was the Monsoon’s leading scorer, had 6A’s second-highest scoring average at 17.9 points per game and led the conference with 81 free throws made. She also had a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game.
Pautz led Notre Dame Prep to its best season in four years, earning a 4A playoff berth and finished 16-3 before losing to Mesquite in the state quarterfinals. A Black Hills State-commit, Pautz averaged a double-double 16.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.3 blocks per game.
Portland State-commit Fitzgerald had several 30-plus scoring games and pushed Mesquite into the Super 10 poll for several weeks during the regular season. Fitzgerald’s 22.1 points per game was seventh among players across the state. She added 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals. Fitzgerald led Mesquite to a No. 4 seed in the 4A state playoffs before losing a close game to Seton Catholic in the state semifinals.
The Hampton-committed point guard Reaves is one of the state’s fastest players in transition and efficient players who can dominate game without scoring high numbers. She averaged 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 4.2 steals and just 2.4 turnovers per game. She led Hamilton to the No. 1 ranking in The Republic’s final Super 10 poll, the top seed in the 6A state tournament and its third consecutive 6A state championship appearance, losing to Surprise Valley Vista for the second straight year in the final.
Henry emerged as an elite wing player who led the Verrado Vipers to a 17-game win streak, one of the state’s best last season. She averaged team-highs 14.1 points and 10.4 rebounds, plus added 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Henry pushed Verrado to an 18-2 record before losing in the 5A semifinals to Millennium.
Shivers is one of the state’s best playmakers who posted 14.9 points per game last season. She was the 6A leader in steals and assists at 5.4 and 5.9 respectively. She was the key factor in Mesa achieving its best record in several years at 13-5 and led the team to a quarterfinals appearance as a sixth seed before losing to Phoenix Xavier Prep.
The 5-foot-4 Hunter is one of the state’s most prolific scorers who had a 6A-best 21.9 points per game, which ranked ninth in the state overall. Also, Hunter was eighth in the state at hitting 3s (42), and added 4.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 4.1 steals.
Another Black Hills Statecommit, Weathersby averaged an Apollo-best 15.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. She was also one of the best passing and defensive bigs in the state who produced 5.3 assists and 3.9 steals per game. Weathersby also was the key factor in Apollo posting a 12-6 record this year.