Salpointe and Catalina Foothills started the day off with great news. The initial AIA power-rankings were released on Tuesday and the Lancers earned a No. 2 ranking in the 4A Conference and the Falcons were ranked No. 2 in the 5A Conference. The rankings will change almost daily over the next four weeks of the regular season but the expanded playoff format introduced this winter will surely feature both squads prominently, most likely in the Open Division.

Salpointe (14-4 overall, 6-2 in ranking games) beat Catalina Foothills 82-48 Tuesday night on the road in a game where the Lancers pulled away from a 14-14 tie after the first quarter to show their continued dominance, coming off of a state championship in 2022 and another last year. That run also included a state runner-up finish in 2021 and a quarterfinal finish in the Open Division in 2023. The Falcons (9-4, 5-1) made it to the 5A semifinals in 2023 but a loss in the play-in phase last year ended any hopes of returning to the top.

A huge difference for the Falcons this winter is the return of Mercy Martinez, who averaged over 10 points a game in 2023 before taking last year off to concentrate on volleyball, where she earned a scholarship to play for Adams State. The team also features Clara-Mae Hagar, who is a scoring machine with over 1,500 career points, including 26 in the loss to Salpointe. Martinez scored 10 points against Salpointe.

Salpointe is led by GCU commit Sydney Anderson, who scored 19 points in the win over the Falcons, senior Hannah Williams, who also scored 19, senior Allison Even (10 points) and sophomore Jayci Nelson, who is averaging almost 11 points an outing. Missing, of course, is senior Taliyah Henderson, who is sitting out due to an injury. Henderson committed to North Carolina and she was one of the most dominant players in the state over the last three years in basketball and track and field.

The Lancers competed in games in El Paso, the vaunted Las Vegas Classic hosted by Bishop Gorman and the team returned from Hawaii on Sunday after going 4-1 at the Honolulu Hoops Showcase. The Lancers open up Kino Region play at No. 4 Mica Mountain (14-4, 7-2) Wednesday night and Catalina Foothills hosts No. 5 Flowing Wells (14-4, 9-0) Thursday night. The Falcons played in the Desert Edge Invitational and the team will face No. 3 Pueblo (14-2, 8-0) at the MLK Basketball Classic held at McKale Center on the Arizona campus on Monday, Jan. 20.

Marcy Martinez. (Andy Morales/AZPreps365)