On Wednesday, November 20th, 2024, the Sahuaro Girls’ Varsity Basketball team kicked off their regular season at home against Maricopa High School. This game followed the preseason scrimmage the week before, during which the girls learned what they needed to work on offensively and defensively.
The starting lineup featured #2 Harmony Twito, #10 Carly Coolidge, #12 Lila Rodriguez, #14 Maggie Boyd, and #20 Gift Sika. The first quarter was an aggressive, yet confident start to the game. Sahuaro won the opening tip-off, and Gift scored the game’s first points on the free throw line. The Cougars shared the ball, with each starter contributing points, ending the first quarter at 18-1. That energy flowed into the second quarter with the Cougars outscoring Maricopa 12-2, bringing the score at halftime to 30-3, solidifying the lead.
18 more points were scored in the third quarter, and although only 2 points were scored in the 4th the game ended with a final score of 50-10. Carly ended the game scoring 15 points, Twito with 14, Sika with 13, and Maggie chipped in with 8 rebounds, making them the leaders on the court on opening night.
The Cougars hit the road the following week to play in the Inferno Invitational where they won three games against Baboquivari, St. David, and Coolidge, but unfortunately lost to Snowflake and Sunnyside. The following Monday, December 2nd, the girls traveled to Sahuarita and suffered a close loss 39-42. With a current record of 4-3, on Friday the 5th they’ll play Cienega, who also has a record of 4-3.
“I’m excited. We have kind of a new group, and yet somewhat of a more veteran group, so it’s kind of fun to have the two mix,” Coach Botkin said about this year’s team. With six seniors on the team, they have a core group of players from whom the underclassmen can learn. Coach Botkin boasted about senior Dazzmyne Gambrell, who shows exceptional leadership with her fiery attitude and perseverance through her recent injury and was recently cleared to play for this season, Coach Botkin also mentioned Maggie Boyd, Carly Coolidge, and Gift Sika as leaders within the team.
Three sophomores and one freshman make up the younger group of the team, but they’re all outstanding players who earned their spot on varsity. Harmony Twito is a key player of this group with a year of varsity experience, and once the twins, Lilly and Layla O’Rourke-Sloan are eligible to play after transferring from Tanque Verde, Coach Botkin believes the team will be playing some of their best basketball in the second half of the season.
Entering his 25th year at Sahuaro, and 30th year coaching varsity overall, Coach Botkin has had to step back each year and think about when he’ll retire. He considered last year to be his final season, but luckily for Sahuaro, he said, “I just wasn’t ready…but I’m just going to keep doing it as long as I have fun.” Botkin said that the team, the energy, and the excitement the girls have for the season is what keeps him coming back, as well as the amazing coaching staff. Coach Kinter, Coach Ortiz, Jan Boyd, Michelle Poe, and his daughter Alyssa Botkin, who played on the team during her years at Sahuaro, keep him motivated and bring positive energy to each season. “I think that’s the biggest thing right? If you’re not having fun anymore it’s time to step away.”
These girls work hard and deserve recognition for the 24-25 season. Come out to support the girls at each home game and cheer them on as they work towards their goal of making playoffs for the 38th straight year- a state record! The home schedule is as follows:
12/6 vs. Cienega
12/10 vs. Catalina Foothills
12/13 vs. Saguaro
12/17 vs. Palo Verde
1/14 vs. Rincon/University
1/21 vs. Ironwood Ridge
1/27 vs. Mica Mountain
2/4 vs. Walden Grove
2/7 vs. Salpointe
