Seliga’s Reaction: Canyon View repeats as girls 5A basketball champs

By Jacob Seliga

Lead Writer

There’s no way I can start this off without eating a whole lot of crow.

Ask the Canyon View coaches and players on campus, no one doubted them more than myself even when I knew I’d see them everyday.

I picked them to lose to Mesquite in the open by 20. I said there was no way they’d beat Sunrise Mountain in the quarterfinals. And entering Friday night, I felt they stood no chance at beating Kellis.

As the Lady Jaguars celebrated a 44-40 victory at center court, you wouldn’t have known they were the most doubted team in the building by the one person in the media that’s “supposed” to be biased towards them.

What Canyon View did in the 5A championship game was show a championship pedigree even in the face of adversity.

From the start of the contest, the Cougars blitzed the Jaguars as Kellis jumped to a 12-7 first quarter lead, forcing five Canyon View turnovers and had 16 rebounds as a team. 

All seven points from the Jaguars came from Cynthia Tewksbury and Jaila Flowers at the free throw line as Canyon View did not convert a field goal until the 4:31 mark of the second quarter.

At halftime, the Jaguars had shot an abysmal 4-of-17 from the field and had the same amount of turnovers as points, 17.

By all accounts, there was no rhyme or reason for the Jaguars to be close in a game where they played so poorly. 

But this is a team that made its first championship appearance with a roster full of freshmen and a team that came back from a deficit to win the 2024 state championship.

The third quarter was when Canyon View turned the tide in its 2024 state championship victory. And that’s what started the run to win their second straight title this year.

Canyon View rarely is a team that plays on the perimeter or can consistently make 3-point attempts, and Tewksbury turned the tide of the game from deep.

Late in the third, Tewksbury stepped back as the shot clock went down and knocked in a deep 3-pointer that gave the Jaguars their first lead of the game with 1:15 left in the quarter.

Immediately, Cougar guard Mia Wolfe knocked down a 3 to give Kellis the lead back, but Tewksbury quickly got down the court and capitalized on a catch-and-shoot opportunity that gave Canyon View a 33-31 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter saw Jaila Flowers and Aaliyah Rogers make their mark on this game, just as they had done all season.

Rogers and Flowers combined for eight of the Jaguars final 11 points and forced three Cougar turnovers as Canyon View began to pull away. 

Luz Marian Santos Mas of Kellis attempted to keep the Cougars in the game, as she knocked down four baskets and pulled in six rebounds in the final frame.

But another Tewksbury 3-pointer, coupled with an and-one from Flowers, was the difference as the Jaguars lead became insurmountable for how anemic the Kellis offense had become. 

This game was everything both teams wanted and needed on the defensive end of the court. Similar to the Deer Valley-St Mary’s matchup from Thursday night, the 5A girls championship was a physical matchup that saw both teams pour every ounce they had.

As the game finished and the Jaguars celebrated on the court, what stood out was the trio of Canyon View players that came and held Kellis guard Janelle Walker as she cried following the defeat.

Both sides talked trash throughout the game and were chippy with one another but showed class and sportsmanship afterwards with a moment like that. It’s a credit to Desirae Carranza and Shanelle Balark and how they run their programs. 

Player of the game: Cynthia Tewksbury, Senior, Canyon View

This award could go to almost every player that played on the night. Flowers and Rogers held their own, Katelyn Jewell made an impact on both ends of the court, Zariyah Odom’s motor kept the Jaguars in it in the first half and both Bernadette and Lourdes Carranza did their job on both ends of the court.

The difference on the night was the lone senior starter for the Jaguars.

Tewksbury led all scorers with 14 crucial points, 11 of which came in the second half as her offense sparked a run that clinched a second consecutive championship. 

Special Message: To Carranza, the staff, and the players. I’m happy that I was proven wrong, you held your own. Enjoy spring break, and I look forward to seeing each of you flex your ring… Again…