Freshman Fuels Campo Verde Win

On Tuesday night, we had a battle between two teams ranked in the first AIA Open Division rankings. Campo Verde checked in at No. 2 while Gilbert came in at No.10. Campo is coming off stellar showings in the She Got Game Classic in Dallas and the Las Vegas Classic in December. Gilbert is limping into the second half of their season, missing Portland State signee Aspen McClees, who is out for the remainder of the season. This game was worth the hype and then some. Freshman standout Jaiyana Bogans-Jacobs delivered a dominant performance as Campo Verde pulled away late to defeat Gilbert 56–43 in a fast-paced, defense-heavy matchup.

Junior guard Kenzie Lewis opened the scoring with a corner three, setting the tone for a tightly contested first quarter. Defense ruled from the opening tip, but sophomore Tess Ivy quickly found her rhythm, scoring six straight points to keep Gilbert in striking distance. Jayda Haley tied the game at 6 with a layup, and Bogans-Jacobs followed with a bucket to give Campo Verde an 8–6 edge. Ivy answered with back-to-back threes to swing momentum, forcing a Campo Verde timeout and giving Gilbert a 12–8 lead. Bogans-Jacobs stopped the run with a layup, but Ivy wasn’t finished, adding a steal and layup before freshman Ava Thompson closed the quarter with a short jumper to make it 16–10 Gilbert.

The second quarter stayed fast and physical. Anna Manning for Campo and Lilah Barton for Gilbert knocked down key threes for their respective squads. For the Coyotes, Jayda Haley and K'Dynce Parks added inside scoring. Tess Ivy responded again from deep, but Bogans-Jacobs controlled the paint, scoring multiple times late in the half. Milan Silvera’s layup after breaking the press gave Campo Verde momentum heading into halftime, trailing just 27–24.

Campo Verde came out strong in the third. Haley scored inside, and Hailey Busch completed an and-one to give the Coyotes their first lead in some time. Silvera added a fast-break layup, and Bogans-Jacobs drilled a three, only to see Ivy answer immediately with a triple that ignited the crowd. The teams traded baskets until Lewis hit a floater late in the quarter to put Campo Verde ahead 39–36. A Silvera layup with six seconds left cut it to 39–38 entering the fourth. The final quarter belonged to Campo Verde. Bogans-Jacobs opened with a pull-up jumper and later added a strong post move to push the lead to 51–43. Lewis attacked the rim for back-to-back layups, and Bailey Barnes buried a clutch three with 1:21 left that effectively sealed the game. Campo Verde controlled the tempo from there and closed out the 56–43 win. Bogans-Jacobs finished with a monster line of 26 points and 17 rebounds, continuing her breakout freshman campaign. Lewis added 10 points and steady leadership in the backcourt. Gilbert was led by Tess Ivy, who poured in 23 points. With the victory, Campo Verde improved to 13–2 on the season, while Gilbert dropped to 9–8. Campo Verde showed that they are worthy of being in the conversation of top teams in the state.