Jesse Granger
Junior guard Haley Tyrell is a key leader for Coronado High girls basketball.
Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017 | 2 a.m.
One more assist.
That was all Coronado High junior guard Haley Tyrell needed for a triple-double in the Cougars' win over Green Valley on Feb. 1.
Tyrell finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists in Coronado’s 70-57 victory to solidify its spot in the playoffs, earning her the Wingstop Player of the Week award.
“She is great in all facets of the game for us,” Coronado girls basketball coach Rich Santigate said. “That night she wasn’t really shooting that well but she was doing all of the other things and grabbed a ton of rebounds.”
Despite being more of a facilitator, Tyrell is currently in the top 10 in scoring in the valley with 14.4 points per game. She was named team captain last season in her first year on varsity as a sophomore.
“She has great leadership qualities,” Santigate said. “She’s very involved with school in the student council and she’s everything you want out of a student-athlete.”
This season, she’s improved in every major stat category — points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
“I took being named captain as a sophomore as a compliment, but I knew there was still room for growth,” Tyrell said. “I tried to be an even better captain as a junior and hopefully I’ll be an even better one as a senior next year.”
In Tyrell’s last three games, Coronado was 3-0 and she has averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
“I think it’s important to be a balanced player and you have to do a little bit of everything,” Tyrell said. “It’s not always just the points that matter, it’s hustling. When you hustle you get the rebounds and the assists and the steals.”
Coronado is currently 5-5 in the Southeast League and has clinched a playoff spot for the seventh straight year.
“It has a lot to do with our team play,” Tyrell said. “We have wanted it and want to win. We put it all out there with nothing to lose and gave it our all.”
Unfortunately, Tyrell twisted an ankle in practice last week and will miss the end of the regular season and potentially the playoffs. Without Tyrell in the lineup, Coronado fell 61-29 to Foothill on Tuesday.
Wingstop provides a gift card and shirt to the player of the week. You can nominate a player for next week’s honor on Twitter using #702hshoops.
“It’s been a rough week with the injury, so it was nice when I found out I won,” Tyrell said. “It’s nice to know that someone else is recognizing what I do, especially because our program isn’t as highlighted as much as others are.”
