Over the weekend, high school basketball in Arizona wrapped up its regular season with the highly anticipated open division State Championship games.

Northeast Valley News was on hand Friday for the early morning shoot-around followed by interviews of four state championship hopefuls.

In the girls bracket the Millenium Tigers took on the Sandra Day O’Connor Eagles for the title of best female team in the state.

Millenium is led by 6A Central Player of The Year, Dashia Richardson, and 6A Central Defensive Player of The Year, Mariah Brownlee.

Brownlee entered this season as a five-star combo guard and one of the best players in the country for the class of 2028 holding multiple D1 offers including Clemson, Florida and Arkansas.

Winning the title of Defensive Player of The Year Brownlee said in the interview, “It was a realization to others that I take so much pride in my defense and locking up the opponent.”

Brownlee focused on the chemistry she has with her teammates.

“These girls are my family, the coaching staff is amazing, and I do my best to never take them for granted.”

Millenium’s head coach Danny Soliman praised his team for their success this season.

“It is just truly a blessing to have them all on this team, they have to sacrifice so much for each other and we just try and build a good family atmosphere for them and our coaching staff.”

On the opposing side, the O’Connor Eagles came into the match-up looking to rely on 6A Desert Valley Player of the year, Audrey Bhesania and 6A Desert Valley Offensive Player of The Year, Ava Schooler.

Bhesania said, “It was about time,” when asked about the award and also gave credit to her teammates and their abilities.

“It’s really important to have a bunch of talented players around us. It really helps take the pressure off each other.”

Eagles head coach, Charles Wilson was also honored with the award of 6A Desert Valley Coach of The Year.

“Consistency” is the word Wilson used to describe his success so far in his campaign with the Eagles.

“I watch film day in and day out and make sure I’m focused on whatever it is we may be doing. I tell myself that no one is going to outwork me which ensures that I put in what I want to get out.”

The boy’s bracket had two stacked rosters from the No. 1 seed Sunnyslope Vikings and the No.3 seed St. Mary’s Knights.

The Knights, coming off hot with a last second buzzer beater shot from Junior Guard Mick Riordan beat a loaded Millenium team.

Riordan told Northeast Valley News, “I come in every day and make sure I get my shots up with the trainers, working different angles and releases.”

St. Mary’s is also led by the No.2 player in the country, Cameron Williams.

Williams emphasized the importance of his teammates.

“It means a lot to be able to come out and play with a great group of guys like this. Everyone really is there for each other on and off the court which makes it that much easier to come in every day and take care of our business.”

Knights head coach Damin Lopez had nothing but great things to say about the young potential.

“We have been watching him for a while and it’s been incredible to see how hard he has worked to get better. He shows so much humility day in and day out and it has been an extremely rewarding experience not just for me but for the community, the school, and his parents and we couldn’t be prouder for him.”

Lopez talked about the tough matchup against the Vikings.

“Sunnyslope is a very seasoned group of veterans, and we are looking to have a grudge match with them. They are very well coached, take care of the ball, and attack the boards. When you have a team like that where each player knows how to play their role you can have something special.”

The Sunnyslope Vikings were coming off a tight game, against the Basha Bears that ended in a 67-64 win in OT.

The Vikings come into the game ranked the No. 5 team in the country according to MaxPreps led by four-star Colorado commit, Rider Portela and five-star Junior, Darius Wabbington.

Wabbington holds numerous offers from top D1 programs such as Arizona, Alabama, LSU, and Maryland.

He talked about taking pride in representing such a long-standing prestigious program at Sunnyslope.

“It’s just paying tribute to the people that have done it before me.

They were State Champions before I was even born so it’s just all about keeping that standard and continuing the winning culture.”

You can watch the championship games online.  And the Arizona high school basketball championship games are being held at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.