Photo: Rayne Libis drives to the basket in the first quarter
It’s a new year, and with a new coach at the helm, the Prescott Lady Badgers look to build their program back after five consecutive losing seasons, but it is going to take dedication, hard work, and of course time.
Those at the season opener at Prescott High School got to see a taste of the new direction in the first eight minutes of what turned out to be a twenty-point loss.
Freshman Rayne Libis came out and scored the first five points of the season, on a drive to the basket and on a three pointer to give Prescott an early 5-4 lead. The first quarter remained highly competitive, and baskets by Jamie Huttmann, Madelyn Brandon, and Camille Magnum helped propel the Lady Badgers to a three-point lead after eight minutes.
Thunderbird, in their second game, applied a full court press that resulted in turnovers, capitalizing by outscoring the Lady Badgers by ten, to take a 22-15 lead at the half. The third quarter was as bad as the lid on the basket kept the drought going till Rylee Hobson got a baseline jumper to drop with 1:53 left in the quarter, but by then Thunderbird had built a 33-17 lead. Catie Lake added the only other basket in the quarter for the Lady Badgers to pull within 33-19, but a three pointer by Ghena Albadri and a last second basket by Jocelyn Arciga pushed the deficit up to 38-19.
The fourth quarter we saw a game similar to the first as Prescott stayed with Thunderbird throughout, but were unable to make a difference in the outcome.
Thunderbird was led by Jocelyn Arciga with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Kennedy Hatch added 12. The Lady Badgers were led by Rayne Libis in her first varsity game with 11. Madelyn Brandon battled her way inside with 6. Catie Lake came off the bench to score 6 as well. Prescott took a beating at the foul line, as they were outshot 25-4.
Lady Badger coach Jami Johnson said, “I was pleased with our team. The final score does not really do the game justice. The girls are adjusting well to having a new coach and a new style of play. I have several young girls out there and they did a heck of a job for not having Varsity experience. We were led by one of those freshman Rayne Libis with 11 points. I believe this team has a bright future.”
Thunderbird (2-0) will host ALA-Queen Creek next Tuesday. Prescott (0-1) will be on the road at Paradise Honors, before returning home to face rival Bradshaw Mountain, on Friday at 7 pm.
THUNDERBIRD TITANS 49, PRESCOTT BADGERS 29
Thunderbird (49)-Shanelle 2 2-2 6, Albadri 1 3-4 6, Rubell 2 1-5 5, Hatch 4 3-5 12, Arciga 5 4-9 14, Ayala 0 0-0 0, Hall 1 0-0 2, Jazzy 0 0-0 0, Kacy 2 0-0 4. 17 13-25 49.
Prescott (29)-Libis 4 0-0 11, Contreras 0 0-0 0, Brandon 2 2-2 6, Coston 0 0-0 0, Magnum 1 0-0 2, Hobson 1 0-0 2, Huttman 1 0-0 2, Pierce 0 0-0 0, Vick 0 0-0 0, Lake 3 0-2 6, Weber 0 0-0 0. 12 2-4 29.
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Thunderbird 8 14 16 11 – 49
Prescott 11 4 4 10 – 29
Total Fouls-T 10, P 17
Fouled Out-None
Three Pointers-T (2)-Albadri 1, Hatch 1, P (3)-Libis 3
SCOREBOARD
Girls Basketball
Mayer 62, Mountainside 19
Notre Dame Prep 53, Coconino 37
Lee Williams 59, Cactus 7
Seton Catholic 50, Flagstaff 46
Desert Edge 59, Agua Fria 30
Greenway 73, Glendale 12
McClintock 88, Marcos de Niza 8
Boys Basketball
Mayer 77, Mountainside 15
Mohave Accelerated 67, Lee Williams 46
Notre Dame Prep 79, Coconino 65
Saguaro 73, Mingus 43
1 thought on “Lady Badgers Fall In Season Opener”
Jami Johnson, Absolutely a HORRIBLE coach! 0-6 for the season last in the grand canyon region, in a tournament they had recently, they barley beat Mayer Wildcats a 1a team with another HORRIBLE girls basketball coach, yelling and screaming at his own child, Pathetic!
MIssy Townsend the schools athletic director should be ashamed! She needs to try harder in hiring coaches, not just giving the job to some Ex ball hog from Bradshaw Mountain high school who used to shoot 3’s and….blah blah blah.. who the hell cares!
I mean Coach Johnson can’t even handle posting stats for her team just flat out will not do it, check for yourselves on Maxpreps.com games are not even inputted or up to date.
A few parents I have talked to told me that there daughters are being treated unfairly and frankly verbally abused by Coach Johnson because she is a FAILURE as a coach and is taking it out on her team. Just an awful situation.
There is talent on that team, I would be shocked if any player next year plays for that imbecile Jami Johnson. I feel Sad, just sad for the Prescott Badgers Varsity girls basketball team.
Come on Missy Townsend please do something about the mistake you made in hiring coach Jami Johnson and fix this terrible situation that you made.
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