Seliga's reaction: Millennium cruises to girls Open Division basketball title

By Jacob Seliga

Lead Writer

Photo gallery by Hypamark contributor JJ Digos.

From the beginning of the game it was as if it was written for Destiny Lunan to leave her “destiny,” not just on Millennium but in the Arizona basketball history books. 

The do-it-all superstar senior and future NC State player defined her legacy with one of the best championship game performances, as she scored 37 points in a wire-to-wire 56-31 victory over rival Valley Vista in the Open Division championship.

“I would say when I woke up, I watched NC State play, you know they got the W today, after that I was locked in and I knew we weren’t going to lose,” said Lunan.

From the jump, the Tigers blitzed the Monsoon guards with their middle press, which forced the Valley Vista guards into multiple traps and errant passes.

Millennium jumped out to an 18-7 first quarter lead behind Lunan’s 11 points and multiple steals from Rihanna Bland and Mariah Brownlee.

The Tigers domination continued into the second quarter where Lunan once again picked up an additional 11 points off quick baskets in transition following steals. 

The difference throughout the game to that point, however, was the team rebounding of Millennium.

Brownlee and Jayda Hunt combined for 8 of the Tigers' 9 rebounds in the quarter, as the Tigers pushed the lead to 16 before a late Monsoon basket made it 31-18 at halftime. 

The third quarter would play out as a carbon copy of the first half, where the Tigers may not have shot the best percentage from the field but their effort and willingness to do the little things when attacking the glass, finishing through contact and diving for loose balls -- which all allowed Lunan to get her total to 28 total points through three quarters.

“I was telling other people, this one was a very personal one for me. I took it like that from the jump,” Lunan said. 

Late in the game with the victory decided, Millennium sent a message to Valley Vista. 

The Tigers cleared the bench but kept one starter in, Lunan. The former Valley Vista star who left after her freshman year.

Lunan stayed in attack mode as she got to 37 points before being taken out of the game to a standing ovation with under a minute to go.

The rivalry between Valley Vista and Millennium is rooted in respect for the other side's greatness, but filled with animosity and hatred on the road to being the best.

Since 2017, no rivalry has meant more to girls basketball in Arizona than this game, yet these two programs hadn’t met in a championship game since the beginning of the battles that same year.

Prior to the Open Division, these two teams rolled through their respective conferences, yet all roads led to their matchup on Saturday night.

And they’ll meet again in the setting of this magnitude in the future.

Player of the game: Destiny Lunan, Senior, Millennium

Valley Vista scored 31 points, Lunan scored 37 points and outscored the Monsoon from the first possession of the game.

Lunan finished her high school career with 37 points, 5 steals and 2 blocks in a dominant performance that showed everything that made her game special.

Whether it was pulling up off the dribble, catching and shooting or locking down defensively, Lunan truly showed why she was the best player in her class and in the state.