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WEST VALLEY PREPS

Mustangs girls hoops continues remarkable turnaround

Posted 3/4/20

Sunrise Mountain girls basketball did not make its dramatic two-year improvement by latching on to a star that grew up in the neighborhood or lure one from another part of the West Valley.

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WEST VALLEY PREPS

Mustangs girls hoops continues remarkable turnaround

Posted

Sunrise Mountain girls basketball did not make its dramatic two-year improvement by latching on to a star that grew up in the neighborhood or lure one from another part of the West Valley.

The talent on the Mustangs is noticeably better in its first two years in 5A. But to ascend all the way to the state final, Coach Jen Tolle and her staff had to get a group of solid players to buy into team defensive principles and a balanced offense.

That is why Tolle remained upbeat even after a 59-30 loss to heavy favorite Millennium in the March 2 title game.

“We’re going to be faithful to trying to run the program in a way that honors the kids. We have it centered around helping them grow as individuals and helping them become better players. I always felt like if we had the right structure and had a good culture, that as we started to get some athletes and some kids that maybe have some previous basketball experience coming in, then we could get something rolling,” Tolle said. “Teryn (Demaree) really got that going for us in her freshman year. She bought in right away. She’s a huge part of the culture on our team.”

While the Mustangs’ ascension from 13-13 in 2017-18 — the program’s final year in 4A — to 5A state runner up this season was dramatic, Tolle plugged away a long time before the breakthrough.

This is her eighth season as coach. When Tolle took over a nine-win program 2012, neighboring Liberty was the top program in the Peoria district.

Her second year ended in a winning season, 14-11, but no playoffs in the large Division II. The next three seasons were a struggle, though Demaree arrived in the third year and showed promise while averaging 10 points.

Tolle said younger players take their cues from Demaree, mimicking her work ethic and encouragement.

In that final .500 season in 4A classmate Sydney Bickel joined Demaree, as did freshman sharpshooter Julie Diveney. The young group started building together.

None emerged as a star, but all embraced team defensive concepts and contributed to the offense in multiple categories. Then the core group grew in 2018-19 with the addition of freshmen guards Kelci Connolly and Jacey Demaree.

“They’ve kind of grown up together, our juniors and our seniors. Even our sophomores, they’ve been playing together for a little while. It really is a team game for us. They rotate the ball around and we try to get out and run. It’s fun to watch and it has served us well all season,” Tolle said.

Despite moving up a conference last season, the Mustangs shot up to No. 6 in the 5A ranks and finished with a 19-8 record.

The year Sunrise Mountain moved up, Millennium moved down after years as a prime 6A contender. Though these teams did not play until the 2020 final, the Tigers’ coach took notice.

“But I will give a big shout out to Coach Tolle and Sunrise Mountain. What she’s done with this program the last two years has been impressive. I know she’s been there a long time, but these two years the improvement they’ve made has really been a testament to those girls,” Millennium coach Courtland Rojeck said.

The program kept improving this year, and in many ways, the leap from No. 6 to No. 2 is more impressive than No. 20-or-so to No. 6. Sunrise Mountain lost Kendra Fowler and Isabel Coady to graduation yet kept on the upward curve.

Big wins over Phoenix Horizon in the regular season and Queen Creek Casteel and Cave Creek Cactus Shadows in the postseason  run continued the ascent.

For the first time, Sunrise Mountain witnessed its girls introduced when the lights went out at ASU’s arena. 

“It’s been an incredible run the last two years to see everything come together. I’m so excited for these kids,” Tolle said.

While Millennium is on a different plane than the rest of 5A right now, its finals opponent does not look like a one-and-done. Demaree and Bickel will be greatly missed but everyone else is back.

Diveney led the way with 11.7 points per game. Connolly and Demaree grew as contributors in their second year.

And three Mustangs freshmen showed plenty of promise. Guard Mackenzie Nielsen earned regular minutes.

Meanwhile, forward Mackenzie Dunham (6.3 points, 9 rebounds a game) and wing Reena Bhakta (5.7 points, 4.5 rebounds) have the potential to lead Sunrise Mountain back to the big stage.

“Our freshmen, it’s been a whirlwind for them. This is probably the longest they’ve ever played basketball consecutively. I hope at some point they’ll be able to look back and say, ‘Wow, what an incredible experience for me to have in my first year. I hope we can help them reflect on that so they can continue to build on it,” Tolle said.