Millennium senior point guard Destiny Lunan goes for a reverse layup after getting past Xavier senior center Atheil Mlat Feb. 27 in Goodyear. Millennium won the Open Division wuarterfinal Feb. 27.
(Courtesy Mason Norris/For West Valley Preps)
Millennium sophomore guard Daisha Richardson pulls up for a short jumper in front of 6-7 Xavier Prep Athiel Mlat during an Open Division quarterfinal Feb. 27 in Goodyear.
(Courtesy Mason Norris/For West Valley Preps)
Millennium freshman wing Mariah Brownlee puts up a floater over Xavier Prep junior guard Sade Charles during an Open Division quarterfinal Feb. 27 in Goodyear.
All winter it shaped up to be the least predictable Open Division bracket in any sport since Arizona adopted the playoff format.
The 2025 girls basketball open did not disappoint. #2 seed Millennium was the only team with home court advantage to win a quarterfinal Thursday night - and the Tigers beat the defending champions.
Millennium (22-6) built a 40-27 cushion after three quarters and held on after #7 Phoenix Xavier College Prep (20-9) got as close as three in the final four minutes. The Tigers regrouped with a 9-4 closing kick to win 53-45.
“We were mainly focused on our defense. We were getting the shots we wanted. We just weren’t making them,” senior guard Destiny "Ky'She" Lunan said. “We can’t really control how we do on offense but our defense? We can control that. We can stay aggressive, put pressure on their guards and close in on Noelle so she couldn’t get those easy layups.”
After breaking through the traditionally tough barrier of beating a region rival for the third time, Millennium has to do it again to make its second Open Division final in three years.
It will be, in effect, a road game tipping at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 4 at Mountain Pointe High School, 4201 E. Knox Road, Phoenix. Millennium is playing Ahwatukee's other high school, #14 Desert Vista (16-12).
“I think it’s abot preparation. As long as we play hard and stay together, this could be ours,” sophomore guard Daisha Richardson said.
In their third meeting on Thursday, Millennium and Xavier stuck to zone defenses most of the night while giving star players Destiny Lunan and Irene "Noelle" Guiamatsia extra attention.
That led to a 21-18 Millennium lead after a cautious first half.
“We knew they’d play the matchup zone and that they’d want to slow the game down,” Millennium coach Danny Soliman said. “I felt like we were nervous early and missing some easy shots. But once we got settled and we were able to play with our physicality I felt like our guards did a really good job of handling their pressure outside.”
Xavier freshman forward Jayden Lange hit a couple of threes to take a brief 24-23 lead. From there, the Tigers went on a 17-3 run to end the quarter and take over the game.
Lunan hit Richardson for a pair of treys to build the lead. Before the buzzer, senior guard Mariah White hit her own from long range to bump the lead to 40-27.
“It takes not just the two of us. It takes the whole team,” Lunan said. “It all comes down to trust, and I trust my ride dawg to make shots at any time. I can trust my teammates.”
Junior Rihanna Bland and sophomore Jayda Hunt spearheaded the defensive effort against Guiamatsia, holding the 6-5 center scoreless in the third quarter.
Freshman wing Mariah Brownlee finished with six points and was a linchpin of the defensive strategy.
“Rhianna was super impactful. And the person that doesn’t get the credit is Marian Brownlee, on both ends of the court. That kid sacrifices more than anybody else on our team.”
Guiamatsia took over early in the fourth, pouring in 10 of her 16 points as the Gators found better angles for entry on post passes.
Xavier also turned the tables on Millennium, forcing turnovers in the backcourt and getting Guiamatsia layups to cut it 44-41.
“We can try to limit her buckets, but she’s a good player,” Lunan said.
Lunan drove to the basket and was fouled. She completed the three-point play to end the Gators' run.
Then she made the play of the night. Earlier the North Carolina State-bound giard hit several pull-up jumpers beyond Guiamatsia's reach.
This time she kept her dribble, faked the stop and pop and stepped through for a layup and 49-41 lead.
She finished with 15 points and Richardson had a team-leading 16.
“We started moving Destiny off the ball more and Daisha on the ball, letting her be able to run in transition. Because she did that, Destiny opened up Daisha’s game. That’s the beauty of their kids. They’re coachable,” Soliman said. “We’ve played against a zone since January. We know we’re not going to see man-to-man so we have to play with different wrinkles on personnel."
Richard Smith Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps
Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.
An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.
For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.
As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.
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