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Lady Phantoms ready<br>for next level

A quick glance at the Grand Canyon High School roster reveals yet another young squad this season. After all, the Lady Phantoms return just one senior and no juniors.

Melissa Monroe returns for her final season wtih the Lady Phantoms.

But there’s a reason for optimism as Grand Canyon prepares for the upcoming season. The team was just one win away from qualifying for the Class 1A state playoffs last year and with the talent coming back, fifth-year coach Andrew Aldaz expects his ladies to be in the hunt.

"I’ve been really impressed with practice on how hard they’re working," Aldaz said. "We want to move to the next level in the district tournament."

Grand Canyon went just 6-18 overall last year but eliminated Seligman at regionals, 40-27, before losing games to St. Michael and Joseph City. The win over the Antelopes represented a methodical step forward in the program.

"I think this team has the capability of moving on to the next level," Aldaz said. "At the beginning of the season, we’ll start slow but by the regional tournament, we should be up to where we were last year or better."

Two key players return to lead the Grand Canyon attack — offensively and defensively. Samantha Stickler, the 6-foot-5 sophomore, gives the Lady Phantoms a solid inside game. Melissa Monroe, one of three seniors and the lone returnee from the class, will run the offense as point guard and has the type of quickness on defense that can translate into turnovers.

"We’ll run a lot of plays inside, pound the ball in the middle," said Aldaz, who would like to utilize Stickler’s height and skill as much as possible. "Sam gives us some height ... and Melissa coming back really helps us, as long as she can stay out of foul trouble."

Stickler should be an intimidating force for opposing teams. This past summer, Stickler improved her game by playing with a youth team in Flagstaff. Her summer league coach raved about her progress and she played on a team that qualified for a national tournament.

Even last year as a freshman, Stickler had an immediate impact on the team. In fact, she broke the school record for blocked shots before the season was even half over.

The Lady Phantoms will have some depth this year. Sophomores Tiffany Monroe and Nikki Harvey return and both figure to be two more key players in the team’s run for the postseason. Monroe had some memorable moments last year as a freshman, including a game-winning three-pointer in one game, and Harvey’s improvements athletically could be seen on the state-qualifying volleyball team.

Others returning for Grand Canyon include sophomores Colette Aspaas, Adrianne Keebahe and Becky Richardson. Aldaz said he could see all those players getting a lot of minutes.

The freshmen class is well-represented on the roster and a few of those players could be seeing varsity action. Aldaz has been impressed with the younger kids.

"It seems like a lot of the freshmen have a lot of basketball skills already," Aldaz said. "I don’t feel like we have to start from the very beginning and maybe we can do some advanced stuff."

In all, Aldaz had 22 girls sign up to play basketball, although around 18 have been regulars in practice.

The top of the 1A North Conference is expected to be a battle between St. Michael and Joseph City and Aldaz thinks there will be a heated battle for third.

"I’ve seen the conference and from what I think we have, I think we can be in the top four spots," said Aldaz, whose team did finish fourth last year. "It depends on the girls and how hard they work."

Fredonia and Seligman appear to be the biggest competition for Grand Canyon for that No. 3 spot, which will qualify for state. Aldaz will get a chance to take on those teams right away with key games against the Lynx and Antelopes in December.

The season opens Dec. 3 with a home matchup against Class 2A Williams.


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