Millennium, Lunan prove to be Arizona's best

By Richard Smith
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PHOENIX - Destiny “Ky’She” Lunan finished her high school basketball career with a full circle moment at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, living up to both her given name and nickname.

Three years ago she was the new kid, starting as a freshman on the same court for a dominant Valley Vista team that beat Perry 68-46 for the 6A title. The AIA started the Open Division for top 4A-6A teams the next year, and in Saturday night’s third girls Open Division final she was the senior star in the spotlight for Millennium — against Valley Vista.

Lunan seized the moment from the start, scoring 11 of her team’s 18 first quarter points. Her 37 points and Millennium’s dominant defense took the Tigers to the top in a 57-31 state title rout.

“It was a great day from the very beginning. I woke up and watched NC State play. We got our dub this morning. After that, I was locked in. When we went to the gym and had our shoot around and then on the bus I wasn’t talking to nobody. I had headphones on listening to Gospel music and watching sermons,” Lunan said. “I didn’t start talking until I stepped on the court. I was really locked in. Once I felt like my shot was hitting, right out of the gates I knew it would be good.”

She also led the Tigers with five steals. Millennium locked down the Monsoon by every defensive metric, with 15 steals, 24 turnovers forced and 16.3% shooting by Valley Vista.

Coach Danny Soliman was thrilled with how his team managed to disrupt the Monsoon with its full court press, yet get back in position to deny their rival from getting open looks when they broke the press.

“I’m so proud of them. Defense is about toughness. It’s about mentality and most people don’t want to do it. They all bought in and had active hands, deflections and tips,” Soliman said. “We were walling up against them without fouling. I’m so proud of them because they pout it all together.”

Second seeded Millennium (24-6) also clearly won the mental game, leading the whole night and looking poised on the big stage.

For Coach Brooklyn Hinkens, it was the second time she did not recognize her team against Millennium. The Tigers won 66-50 Jan. 24 in Goodyear, then #9 Valley Vista (22-8) won its next 11 games to get to this rematch.

Playing three teams with higher seeds in the Open Division, the Monsoon won in dominant fashion by 13, 12 and 23 points. By contrast, Millennium survived a semifinal scare by #14 Phoenix Desert Vista, winning 50-45 in overtime.

“I think the moment was too big for my players today,” Hinkens said. “I think it’s the whole pressure of it being a rivalry. They’re 10 miles away. The beautiful thing about this is, this team is very young.”

Lunan simply was not going to allow the Tigers to lose, scoring 11 points in each of the first two quarters. She was 7-15 from the field in the first half, while the rest of the players on the court shot 10-37.

Lunan also contributed to a Tigers trap that gave Valley Vista fits all night. The Monsoon turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, but it felt like more.

Valley Vista went 6-28 in the first half and two of those were from long distance.

Any chance of a Valley Vista second half stand quickly evaporated. Sophomore center Jayda Hunt blocked their first field goal attempt.

Lunan hit a trey, then drove on the next possession before kicking out to sophomore guard Daisha Richardson for another three and a 37-18 lead.

Richardson grew into a secondary force for the Tigers in the closing stretch. She scored in double figures in all five Open Division games, finishing with 16 points and five rebounds Saturday.

“She’s been like that for the last month. She’s stepped up her game and she’s done it on the defensive side. Then she’s been getting downhill and not just shooting from deep," Soliman said.

Millennium girls basketball players and coaches leap off the bench as the final buzzer sounds to rush the court and celebrate winning the Arizona Open Division title March 8 in Phoenix. (Courtesy Mason Norris/For West Valley Preps)

Senior forward Jada Wilson led the Monsoon with 10 points and 13 rebounds, though freshman center Emma Bremer also had 13 boards.

Wilson is the only senior on the roster, and Hinkens hopes the rest of the squad remembers this night.

“Championship teams know what it feels like to lose games like this, and they don’t allow it to happen again. I hope this motivates every single one of my players that returns to get better and put more time in the gym. A lot of us got comfortable with doing the bare minimum. That showed in the first half of the season and it showed against Millennium the first time. They’re very young, so I’m excited to see how we bounce back for next year.”

Two Millennium players were in their second Open Division title game. Senior Ryanne Torres and junior Rhianna Bland were on the 2022-23 Tigers, who made a surprise run to the first Open Division final against a Desert Vista juggernaut that rolled 64-37.

Bland started and made a couple of steals, while Torres scored on a layup but only played a bit more than four minutes before injuring her knee. Both were glad to be on the other side of a state title blowout.

“It means everything. We put in a lot of hard work day in and day out and we’re such a strong family. It’s that family feel and family bond that translates onto the court. I’m glad to finish it off like this with my best friends,” Torres said.

Millennium now has four straight victories in the state’s biggest girls basketball rivalry. It also evens things 1-1 in state title games, as Valley Vista beat Millennium in the first 6A final in 2017.

That was the first of six 6A titles in seven years for the Monsoon. Millennium won the state’s top division for the first time in three tries, to go with the Tigers’ four 5A titles from 2019-2022.

“It means a lot more. We always have such competitive games year after year,” Bland said. “They all really brought it but we brought it harder.”

Lunan ends her career three for three in title games. In addition to this one and the freshman year at Valley Vista, she led Bella Vista to the Grind Session national title as a sophomore.

Though Bella Vista is not an AIA member, her transfer to Millennium from the prep school counted as a second transfer. Per AIA rules, she had to sit out the 2023-24 season and the Tigers lost in the 5A semifinals.

“This one was very personal for me. I took it like that. I’m so happy for these girls. We didn’t let up one time. We stayed aggressive and gave it to them,” Lunan said. “They came out talking about being the best defensive team in the state. We take pride in that and know they’re not.”

Following a year of cheering this team on, Lunan had a major impact as a leader for a group that starts one junior, two sophomores and one freshman, Soliman said.

“She’s just amazing. They went man-to-man and we haven’t seen man-to-man in almost two months. That’s what she does against man-to-man. So we were thankful for that,” Soliman said. “She’s literally a warrior. She deserves it.”

Richard Smith
Senior News Editor | Glendale & West Valley Preps

rsmith@iniusa.org

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.