Campo Verde takes measure of Casteel

February 3, 2023 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


Campo Verde's Kinzey Hutchings (11) finishes a drive in the Coytoes 60-48 vicotry over Casteel on Friday night. (Azpreps365 photo)

Ten up. Ten down.

A perfect region season (10-0) ended Friday night for Campo Verde girls hoops. The result of the sixth-ranked Coyotes final game of the regular season was a potent way to head to postseason as they took down visiting Casteel, 60-48.

Campo Verde's first-half performance put Casteel on its heels and the Colts weren't able to recover. A 14-8 first-quarter advantage grew to 32-17 by halftime. The score was 50-29 after three periods. Campo Verde heads to postseason 21-7 overall. Casteel, ranked #19 in Friday's 5A power rankings, finished 13-12 overall, 3-7 in region. 

Five players scored for Campo Verde  with four of them landing in double figures and the other a basket shy of that mark. Senior Alyssa Stacy and sophomore Kelsey Watts netted 14 points apiece. Seniors Kinzey Hutchings and Allison Saunders chipped in 13 points and 11 points, respectively. Freshman guard Bianca Hurtado had eight points.

All five of the aforementioned players scored in the first quarter that saw Campo lead late in the quarter, 13-4, before settling for the 14-8 margin. All five scored at least a basket or two free throws in the second quarter signaling a balanced attack wasn't going away.

Hutchings had the most productive quarter among her teammates with seven points in the third period. One of the baskets was a double-spin move and she capped her quarter with a long three to the right and beyond the key.

Leading Casteel offensively were freshman Ava Lewis with a game-high 16 points, nearly double her season average. All her points came in quarters two through four. Leading scorer for the season Maci Hess was the only other Colt to reach double figures. She finished with 13 points - 11 in the second half.

Schools in 4A, 5A and 6A will be tuned in Saturday morning to the postseason bracket release show emanating from the AIA office starting at 8 a.m. Open Division and 4A, 5A and 6A play-in brackets will be revealed. The bracket release show can be seen on the NFHS network or by tuning in via radio to 1580 AM The Fanatic.