Joey Mascarois an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Millennium High School for AZPreps365.com.

Millennium girls’ basketball finds themselves in a familiar situation heading into state playoffs  after senior night ended in bizarre fashion with the Tigers beating the Verrado Vipers 62-16

Senior night at Millennium High School ended early as visiting Vipers forfeitted the game with 4:46 left in the fourth quarter after the game came to a sudden halt when a Viper girl suffered a seemingly bad knee tear, leaving the team with only nine active players remaining. 

Millennium, in its season sweep over Verrado, is likely to lock a top-3 seed in the 5A Arizona state playoffs. MHS will soon be starting their journey towards winning four consecutive titles.   

The Lady Tigers’ dominant defense was on display Tuesday night forcing 25 total turnovers throughout the game while holding the Vipers to only 16 total points through three quarters and six minutes of playtime into the fourth quarter.

The offense ran through the guards with junior Mia Amundsen scoring 19 and sophomore Elli Guiney scoring 19, and ultimately combining for more than half of the teams total 62 points. 

The final home game of the regular season wass senior night, with Millennium saying goodbye to seniors Trayanna Crisp, Rachel Hink and Reagan Grimsley.

“It was actually very nerve-wracking for me. Coming from eighth grade, the atmosphere was not something I was used to,” Crisp said.

After making the decision to return for her senior season, Crisp worked hard and was rewarded with a scholarship to play basketball at the collegiate level for the Arizona State Sun Devils next season.

Crisp didn’t have much faith in herself as a freshman and didn't think she was going to be anything more than just an average player. The confidence and belief that her peers and coaches had instilled in her helped Crisp work day in and day out to realize her potential which helped her believe she could be a division one student athlete. 

“Mine was actually fairly easy-going,” Hink said. “I was in seventh grade when I came to a basketball camp where I was one of the only girls there, but speaking for my first game here, I was nervous because I wasn’t used to that level of competition before.”

While Hink will be attending the University of Arizona on an academic scholarship, she establishes how much basketball has changed her life and how the game taught her life lessons like how to be a team player, how to work with others and how to manage the difficult and easy-going times. Hink also spoke on how she will remember the memories she made at Millennium with the team and more importantly her friendships she made that will last a lifetime. 

“I was playing for both my mom and (coach) Rojeck at the time; that was my first JV and Varsity games I went into. I was nervous,” Grimsley said. “But it was all good after those first 30 seconds, and it kind of just plays out.” 

Grimsley is going to play college basketball at Simpson College in Iowa, but the road to get there was a hard fought, challenging ordeal. Tearing her ACL last year, Grimsly described her journey as a continuous climb. Grimsley was told her recovery would take nine months, but when she looked her injury up and read about how the normal recovery time is six months, Grimsley was gunning for a five month recovery. 

Grimsley went on to say how to get to this moment in her life made everything that she worked hard for worth it, and she gave a huge shoutout to Athletico Physical Therapy and her doctor for helping her on her road to recovery.

The 2021-22 season means something different to each of the three seniors, and with that experience, each Lady Tiger was able to take something unique away from it.   

“It’s been about building myself and my leadership. Me coming back to my senior year was probably the best thing I’ve ever done. I got to regain a lot of my friendships that I had or didn't have. There's nothing like it,” Crisp said. 

“This team this year has built a lot of character in all of us. It really helps enforce this bond we've had. It builds our strength and togetherness on and off the floor,” Hink said.

“Next Year I’m going to Iowa, so it's kinda like cherishing each moment. I’m not going to cry; it’s surreal and setting in and rebuilding all those final memoires before I leave, plus getting ready for the next level,” Grimsley tearfully said. 

Millennium head coach Kevin Thomas couldn’t speak highly enough about each player but more so the person leaving the program. 

“I’ve been spoiled with the program in general; they’re just good kids, good people, and good basketball players.” Thomas said. “Those three: Rachel, Reagan, and Tray in particular are just really good teammates, communicators and have a good, bright future ahead of them. Sad to see them leave but excited for them,”.  

While the regular season has come to a close, the Lady Tigers finished with a 13-5 record which is good enough for a guaranteed playoff berth this season. Who the Millennium Tigers will face will be determined in the near future.