Deer Valley SG Nadya Gutierrez voted the WaFd Bank Arizona High School Girls Basketball Player of the Week

Congratulations to Deer Valley shooting guard Nadya Gutierrez for being voted SBLive’s WaFd Bank Arizona High School Girls Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 24-30!

Congratulations to Deer Valley shooting guard Nadya Gutierrez for being voted SBLive’s WaFd Bank Arizona High School Girls Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 24-30!

Dropping a career-high 22 points on Friday, the sophomore also had three rebounds, two deflections and two steals to help the Skyhawks stomp the Peoria Panthers 61-18.

Gutierrez received 39.28% of the vote, beating outValley Vista's Destiny “Ky” Lunan who finished second with 22.94%. Valley Vista's Mikela Cooper finished third with 11.33% and Desert Vista's Dylan Swindle finished fourth with 8.51%. There were over 31,000 votes tallied this week!

We are currently accepting WaFd Bank Girls Basketball Player of the Week nominations. If you would like to nominate an athlete, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com or message us on Twitter or Instagram at @sbliveaz.

Here are the other athletes who were nominated for the week of Jan. 24-30:

Mariam Abakar, Senior, Carl Hayden – Helping the Falcons pick up a 45-32 victory over Sierra Linda on Tuesday, Baker posted a career-high of 19 points along with seven rebounds, seven steals, four assists and a block. 

Leamsi Acuna, Junior, Flowing Wells – Posting a new career-high of 27 points on Thursday night in the 61-52 victory over Catalina Foothills, the junior also had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two deflections to put a bow on one of her best performances to date. 

Rebecca Arave, Junior, Lee Williams – In Lee Williams’ 54-26 victory over Barry Goldwater on Thursday, Arave had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while also picking up six assists, six blocks and three steals for a dominant night on the hardwood. 

Kylee Callahan, Senior, Salpointe Catholic – Dominating the hardwood on Tuesday, Callahan helped Salpointe Catholic continue its stronghold over Tucson with an outstanding all-around night and a nearly unheard of stat line. With 27 points, 10 steals, 10 assists and nine rebounds, she was only one rebound shy of a quadruple-double. She also had three deflections to round out her final performance of the regular season at home on Senior Night. 

Keyla Cervantes, Senior, St. John Paul II – Posting her best shooting percentage of the season on Friday at 72, Cervantes had 32 points on the night along with 10 steals for a double-double, two rebounds and two assists to help the Lions defeat Heritage Academy 62-4. 

Ashlynn Chlarson, Junior, Pima – Returning to the list this week is Chlarson, who dominated the hardwood on Thursday to help Pima pick up a 60-39 win over Morenci. Posting a double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds, she also had three blocks and a steal. 

Kacie Clinton, Senior, Bradshaw Mountain – In a close battle on the road, Clinton helped lead Bradshaw Mountain to a 48-44 victory over Coconino on Friday. Posting a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds, she also had three assists, two steals and a deflection to help pull away with the win. 

Mikela Cooper, Senior, Valley Vista – The Monsoon have one of the deepest rosters in the state, and Cooper was able to break out to have one of her stronger performances of the season on Monday night in the 81-15 victory over Tolleson. With 16 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double, she also had five steals and four assists on the night to really shine. 

Jessica Davis, Senior, LEA – Gilbert – Posting a career-high of 24 points Tuesday in the 71-22 victory over Hayden, Davis also had eight steals, five rebounds and four assists for arguably the strongest performance she’s ever had on the hardwood.

Talia Dial, Senior, Dysart – WOW is all anyone can say about Dial’s start to the week, as the senior posted a whopping 50 points in the 86-46 victory over Coronado. Shooting 70-percent from the field, Dial also had seven rebounds, five deflections, four steals and two assists. She also had a strong showing in the 61-41 victory over Youngker on Tuesday, where she posted a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, along with three assists and three steals to close out her night. Thursday, she posted another 31 points, six rebounds, five steals and two assists despite Dysart’s 63-53 loss to Paradise Honors. 

Torah Dial, Sophomore, Dysart – Joining her sister on the list, Torah had back-to-back career-high performances this week on Monday and Tuesday. Teaming up with Talia to help pick up an 86-46 victory over Coronado, Torah had a career-high 17 points along with 11 deflections on the night for a double-double, seven assists, seven steals and four rebounds. She followed it up the next night in the 61-41 win over Youngker by tying her career-high of 17 points once again while snagging five rebounds, four steals and three assists. 

Sedona Dietrich, Sophomore, Pusch Ridge – With lights-out shooting on Tuesday, Dietrich posted 17 points while shooting 89-percent from the field to lead the game in scoring and help Pusch Ridge defeat Mica Mountain 51-40. Good for a double-double performance with 10 rebounds, she also had three assists and three steals to round out the game. 

Kelsey Ericksen, Senior, Shadow Ridge – Ericksen’s strong start to the week helped lift Shadow Ridge to a big 66-26 conference win over Westview on Monday. Posting 20 points, five assists, five steals, four rebounds and block, Ericksen helped the Stallions cruise to the win. 

Talia Estrada, Senior, LEA – Gilbert – Knocking down 66-percent of her shots on Friday, Estrada was able to set a new career-high of 51 points in the 77-18 victory over Superior. In addition to her lights-out scoring, she also had five steals, four rebounds and three assists. 

Elli Guiney, Sophomore, Millennium –Shooting 70-percent from the field on Friday night, Guiney was able to pick up a double-double while leading the game in both points and rebounds with 18 and 12, respectively. Additionally, she had a pair of steals and assists along with one block to help the Tigers defeat the Canyon View Jaguars 48-28. 

Sara Harris, Senior, LEA – Gilbert – Helping the Spartans pick up a a 65-17 victory over Tempe Prep on Monday, Harris started the week with an all-around performance on Monday by posting 14 points while shooting 78-percent from the field, along with 10 rebounds and a block. 

Myna Johnson, Senior, Cibola – Johnson returns to the list for becoming the newest member of the 1,000 career points club in Thursday’s 71-14 win over Kofa, where she posted the 20 points she needed before her final game at home against San Luis this week. 

Destiny “Ky” Lunan, Freshman, Valley Vista – Exploding to a career-high 25 points on Monday, the young freshman finally had her chance to shine for the dominant Valley Vista Monsoon in Monday’s 81-15 blowout of Tolleson. In addition to leading the game in scoring, she also had six rebounds, five assists and five steals on the night. 

Navine Mallon, Junior, Flowing Wells – Returning to the list again this week is Mallon, who started the week by helping lead the Caballeros to a 53-21 win over Mountain View – Marana with 18 points, six rebounds, six steals, two assists and two deflections. She kept things going on Friday, when she led the game in scoring and rebounds with 16 and nine, respectively. She also had five deflections, four steals and an assist to help Flowing Wells shut down Ironwood Ridge 62-36. 

Dominique Nesland, Sophomore, Xavier College Prep – In the Gators’ 71-29 win over Basha on Monday, Nesland led the game in scoring with 21 points on the night. She also had eight rebounds, five assists, three deflections and two steals for an all-around dominant night on the hardwood to set the tone for the Gators leading into the week. On Thursday, she led the game in scoring with 22 points in the 60-35 victory over Chandler while also picking up eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and a deflection. 

Nayeli Nidez-Acuna, Sophomore, Sunnyside – Sunnyside started the week against Buena, where Nidez-Acuna had a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds, along with three assists and two steals despite a 57-50 loss. She followed Thursday with another double-double, dropping 18 points and 10 rebounds, along with three assists, two steals and a block to escape with a 61-58 win. 

Nashelle Ponds, Junior, Sahuaro – Ponds returns to the list this week for her performance on Friday in Sahuaro’s 69-18 victory over Casa Grande. With 23 points, seven rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block, Ponds dominated in the road win. 

Brooklyn Pablo, Senior, Coolidge – While Pablo posted 20 points in both Tuesday’s 58-45 win over Globe and Thursday’s 55-24 win over Florence, Thursday was really where she saw strength in her defensive play. On Thursday, she also had three steals and five blocks to go with her six rebounds and three assists. 

Jayla Scott, Senior, Vista Grande – Setting a season-high of 20 rebounds on Thursday in the 77-59 victory over Cortez, she also led the game in scoring en route to a double-double with 25 points. Dishing out five assists to help her teammates score, she also had six blocks and two steals to help shut things down on defense. 

Vanessa Sepulveda, Sophomore, Mesquite – Leading Thursday’s game against Saguaro in scoring, Sepulveda’s strong performance helped the Wildcats pick up a 79-40 win over the Sabercats. Sepulveda posted 22 points while shooting 69-percent from the field, along with six assists, four rebounds and four steals. 

Emily Shedd, Senior, Vista Grande – It was a strong week for the senior. Dropping a double-double twice, she started things off on Tuesday with 21 points and 11 rebounds, along with four assists and three steals to help pick up a 76-37 wn over Apache Junction. On Thursday, she followed it up with another 21 points and 10 rebounds, along with two steals and an assist to pick up a 77-59 win over Cortez. 

Alexa Simpson, Freshman, Saguaro – Back on the list this week is Saguaro’s standout freshman, who led in scoring on Wednesday in the 61-37 victory over ALA-Queen Creek with 19 points for a new career-high. Shooting 75-percent from the field, she also had 12 rebounds to pick up a double-double, along with six steals, four assists and two blocks. 

Kylie Sours-Miller, Junior, Greenway – In only her third varsity game, Sours-Miller led Greenway to a huge 59-46 victory over St. Mary’s on Monday by dropping 26 points, 19 rebounds and 12 blocks, good for an outstanding triple-double. She also had three steals and two assists to round out her night. She followed it up on Tuesday with a double-double, dropping a dozen points and rebounds along with two assists and two steals to help grab a 48-30 victory over St. Mary’s. 

Dylan Swindle, Freshman, Desert Vista – Swindle is one of the top freshman prospects in the state, and she proved why on Friday night in Desert Vista’s 46-31 victory over rivaling Mountain Pointe. With 27 points on the night, Swindle set a new career-high while also snagging six rebounds and two steals. 

Aniyah White, Junior, Coolidge – Nearly picking up a double-double on Tuesday, White had 22 points and nine rebounds, along with three deflections, two steals and two assists to help Coolidge defeat Globe 58-45 and snag the best performance of her career to date.

Nakyah Williams, Freshman, Paradise Honors– Helping pick up a big region win on Monday over Dysart, Williams had 27 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, six steals and one deflection on the night before following it up against Estrella Foothills with another 25 points.

Addy Sandusky, Senior, Paradise Honors – Allowing the Panthers to kick in the 4A Southwest Region last week, Sandusky had 19 points on Tuesday, 15 of them coming from behind the arc, to help Paradise Honors defeat Estrella Mountain.