McClintock takes charge of Metro Region with big win over North
January 21, 2025 by Ben Stapley, AZPreps365
McClintock hosted North High Tuesday night in a battle of the 5A Metro region's top two teams.
After 32 minutes, the Chargers left no doubt who is the best, as they dismantled North, 54-30 Tuesday night. McClintock led from start to finish, withstood a sloppy second quarter, and ran away from the Mustangs in the second half.
The highlight of the evening for McClintock was junior Lamaiya Woodberry scoring her 1,000th career point. She led McClintock with 14 points, which is exactly what she needed to reach the milestone. She reached 1,000 in the third quarter after two free-throws gave the Chargers a 34-22 lead. The game was momentarily paused to recognize Woodberry's accomplishment.
"There were alot of emotions," Woodberry said. It was a relief and it felt good to accomplish that because alot of people don't do that in their high school career, especially by their junior year. But I had to go into the game preparing my team, mostly for the win, but I also to achieve my goal."
Big matchup between 5A Metro region unbeatens North and McClintock. Anna Egorova has helped the Chargers out to a 7-0 lead with her outside shooting pic.twitter.com/M41jGJ24Cn
— Ben Stapley (@AZPreps365Ben) January 22, 2025
Mission accomplished on both fronts. McClintock (12-6, 6-0) smothered North (16-4, 7-1) all night defensively, as the Mustangs never scored double digits in any quarter. But the Chargers didn't blow the game open until the second half.
Sophomore Anna Egorova added nine points for the Chargers and helped McClintock to a 13-8 lead after the first quarter. North closed the gap to two points early in the second quarter (15-13) after a three point play by Esefani Brunson, who led with 14 points.
Both teams struggled shooting the remainder of the second quarter, and the Chargers took a 20-15 lead to halftime.
Iakira Mike knocked down consecutive 3-pointers early in the third quarter before Woodberry added six points of her own to reach 1,000. McClintock outscored North 18-7 in the third quarter for a comfortable 16-point lead.
When it rains it pours, and McClintock’s Mary Evans connects on a 3-pt basket that gives the Chargers a 20 point lead early in the 4th pic.twitter.com/Vs8haXyyHZ
— Ben Stapley (@AZPreps365Ben) January 22, 2025
McClintock coach David Williams was pleased to see his team take control of the region along with Woodberry's milestone.
"This is really the first time we've been healthy since Thanksgiving," Williams said.
"We've played some good teams like Millennium and Desert Vista, so we were ready for this game. Lamaiya has been averaging over 20 points the last six games, so I was confident she'd get the 14 she needed tonight. She's a great kid."
