Raymond S. Kellis stacked another building block and did so in its backyard.

The Cougars travelled to an NFL stadium, State Farm, located about five minutes from their campus, to win a basketball title. That’ll be a neat story for the players to retell in the future.

As for the present, after defeating Dobson Saturday 53-38 to claim Section 7’s Arizona Family Bracket, the Cougars continue to climb Arizona’s basketball ladder.

They are doing so with a somewhat small and young lineup. But that didn’t keep 5A Raymond S. Kellis from knocking off a 6A force, Dobson, directed by veteran coach Henry Bribiescas.

The teams met in February in the first round of the 2024 Open, with Dobson winning 53-49. On Saturday, Bribiescas girls jumped out to a 10-2 lead after a three off the glass.

But the Cougars rallied just like they did when they trailed early in their first Section 7 bracket games. The reigning Northwest Region Player of the Year, Shanielle Mallory Frias, drained some threes, some from distance, to get her team back in the game.

The incoming junior scored 13 points late in the first half en route to a 25-point MVP performance. Her dribble drive bucket with 3:10 left in the first half put Raymond S. Kellis up 17-16, a lead the Cougars didn’t relinquish the rest of the game.

2027 Mia Wolfe (9 points) converted a right-handed lay in to beat the halftime buzzer and give the Cougars a 32-25 advantage.

“It was so nerve-wracking ,” said Mallory Frias about State Farm Stadium’s championship spotlight. “But it was really fun.”

The Cougars converted four three-pointers pointers in each half.

Back-to-back treys by Luz Marian Santos Mas also were key in helping Raymond S. Kellis get back in the game in the first half.

In the second half, the Cougars’ beyond the arc shots kept Dobson at bay, beginning with a corner trey by Kiah Simpson. That allowed the Cougars to take their first double digit lead (40-30).

“We can compete with anybody,” Raymond S. Kellis coach/alum Shanelle Balark said. “It’s good that we are getting challenged right now and working out those kinks so that we are ready for the season.”