2024 Graduate Esmeralda Galindo (Enriquez) earns Tournament MVP after she leads Eastern Arizona College to its first ever National Championship! LAKE CHARLES, La. — The Eastern Arizona College women’s basketball team etched its name into the history books Tuesday night, capturing the program’s first NJCAA Division I National Championship with a hard-fought 57-51 victory over New Mexico Junior College in the title game at the Lake Charles Arena. The Gila Monsters, representing Thatcher and the entire Gila Valley, showed the heart and resilience that carried them through the entire tournament, pulling away in the second half and sealing the deal at the free-throw line in the closing seconds. It was a back-and-forth battle early on, just as expected in a national championship tilt. EAC and New Mexico traded punches throughout the first quarter. Eanae Dagons knocked down a 3-pointer, and Danaeja Romero-Ah Sam went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, but the Thunderbirds answered with four field goals from Jada Graves and a deep ball by Madison Wilson. The score sat knotted at 15-15 after one. New Mexico grabbed the early edge in the second quarter, pushing ahead 17-15 and then 18-15. But Trinity Alex-Mayer snagged a rebound and drained a 3-pointer to knot it at 18-18. The Thunderbirds responded immediately with a triple from Addison Edwards to go back up 21-18 with 7:04 left in the half. New Mexico took a slim 29-27 lead into the locker room. The Monsters came out firing in the third quarter. They stormed back to take the lead for the rest of the game at 38-33 with 3:56 remaining in the period. Romero-Ah Sam added another 3-pointer moments later to stretch it to 41-35. By the end of the third, EAC held a 41-37 advantage. EAC kept the momentum rolling into the fourth. The Monsters pushed their lead to 51-42 with 5:33 to play, looking like they might pull away for good. But Graves, who led all scorers with 21 points, answered with an and-1 play at the 3:33 mark to cut the deficit to four and keep New Mexico alive. Romero-Ah Sam responded with a layup to make it 53-47. Luisa Amaral hit a jumper for the Thunderbirds to close it to 53-49. From there, New Mexico was forced to foul as the clock ticked under 30 seconds. Romero-Ah Sam went 1-for-2 at the line to push the lead to 54-49 with 25 seconds left. Wilson answered with a layup for New Mexico, making it 54-51 with 12 seconds remaining. The Thunderbirds then intentionally fouled Esmeralda Enriquez, who stepped up and knocked down both free throws to make it 56-51. After a New Mexico miss, Enriquez was fouled again and made 1-of-2 to set the final score at 57-51 as time expired. The celebration began for the Gila Monsters. Enriquez finished with a game-high 16 points on 5-of-20 shooting, including 3-of-10 from 3-point range, while grabbing five rebounds. The championship caps an outstanding season for the Monsters, who entered the national tournament as the No. 2 seed and showed they belonged among the best teams in the country from start to finish. For the first time in school history, the EAC women’s basketball program can call itself national champions. The Gila Valley has another reason to be proud tonight....

The Big Nine is proud to announce the Winter winners of the NECA/IBEW Big 9 Award. The National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are proud to present the 21st annual recognition of these fine scholar athletes from four Big 9 schools. These two organizations are training electricians for the future. NECA/IBEW encourage all high school students to explore, with their high school counselors, a career in the Electrical Construction Industry which provides salary levels that are above average and careers that last a lifetime. On behalf of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers we recognize the following NECA/IBEW Big 9 high school students who demonstrate superior balance in academics, athletics and community involvement. The NECA/IBEW 2024 Winter Big 9 Athletes are: DAVIS HIGH SCHOOL Kristal Mendoza, Bowling Jaimie Barajas, Wrestling EISENHOWER HIGH SCHOOL Mercedez Garza, Basketball Frank Redfield, Wrestling SUNNYSIDE HIGH SCHOOL Danica Torres, Wrestling Tim Lemos, Basketball WEST VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL Myleah Miles, Wrestling Parker Mills, Basketball On behalf of NECA/IBEW and the Big 9 we recognize and congratulate these students!...

Two-time Class 4A state champion Davis finished in the SI.com national girls top 25. The Pirates, who rolled through three games in the state tournament at the Tacoma Dome winning by an average of 16.7 points, were No. 23 in the poll released late Monday afternoon. Davis, which finished the season 24-2 and unbeaten against in-state competition, became the first team since Gonzaga Prep in 2014 and 2015 to repeat as 4A champion, and next winter will be favored to join Lewis & Clark as the only team to three-peat in the state’s largest classification. The Pirates, who finished the season on an 18-game winning streak, also finished atop MaxPreps’ all-classification state top 25, with six victories against other teams in the poll. ...

Davis girls basketball coach Akil White on Saturday night was awarded the Washington State Girls Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year at the All-State games at King’s High School. A week earlier, White guided the top-ranked Pirates to the second straight Class 4A state championship with a 62-51 victory against No. 8 Sumner in the Tacoma Dome. Davis finished the season 24-2 and were unbeaten against in-state competition....

Junior Isa Garcia played a key role in Davis’ championship run, scoring 20, 14, and 24 points across the team’s three State Tournament games. Garcia’s consistent scoring helped lead Davis to its second consecutive State Championship....

2011 Graduate Alexio Garcia is the head women's wrestling coach at McKendree University. The McKendree Bearcats just won the inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling National Championship. ...