Arizona girls' high school basketball championships are coming up. Here's our breakdown

The Arizona girls' high school basketball state championship games get underway Thursday night. Over the next three days, four gold ball trophies will be handed out at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, concluding with the second-ever Open Division championship game on Saturday evening.

The Republic breaks down all four matchups:

Open Division: No. 2 Xavier Prep vs. No. 4 Desert Vista

Time and location: 5 p.m., Saturday, Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

This matchup has a multitude of storylines. Xavier Prep and Desert Vista are led by several Division I recruits and eight selections for The Republic’s Elite 50 players for this season (four on each team), including Desert Vista’s top-ranked senior guard and Stanford-commit Shay Ijiwoye.

Xavier Prep’s and Desert Vista’s respective coaches Jennifer Gillom and former Gilbert Highland standout player Erin O’Bryan are looking for their first titles as head coaches. O’Bryan replaced Dave Williams, who’s now at Tempe McClintock after he led Desert Vista to the inaugural Open championship last season.

“They embraced me,” O’Bryan said. “This means a lot more for these kids. I’ve been there. I’ve done it. I’ve won a state championship. I’ve lost a state championship. So I know how this feels and I know how it changes their lives. And my life is forever going to be changed by these kids, too, whether we win or lose because of how much progress we’ve made since Day One. It’s a completely different team than November 16th.”

In addition, this game is a rematch. On Nov. 28 at the start of this season, Desert Vista was beaten at home by Xavier Prep, 53-39. The Thunder — who see themselves as a completely different team now than in November — will be trying to avenge that blowout loss on the state’s biggest stage.

Prediction: Xavier Prep 56, Desert Vista 50

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6A Conference: No. 3 Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor vs. No. 8 Gilbert Perry

Time and location: 11 a.m., Saturday, Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

O’Connor and Perry could’ve been a preseason prediction for the 6A title game, but the Pumas struggled during the regular season.

The No. 8 seed Perry is led by its top sophomore duo, transfer Bella Burcar and Sage Henry. The Pumas surprisingly went 15-14 before barely making it into the state tournament, then went on a magical 6A run which included rolling through top-seed Tucson Sunnyside in the quarterfinals. It was similar to Perry’s just-get-in tournament run to its first state championship appearance two years ago as an 11th seed, before losing to Surprise Valley Vista.

“We always want to be battle-tested going into the playoffs. This year just might be the most tested any of my teams have been,” Perry coach Andy Curtis told The Republic in a text message. “Group has come a long way on and off the court. Weathered every storm, injuries, transfers, couple players' pneumonia, etc. Just kept getting better everyday, not making excuses. Big test versus a very good Sandra Day O’Connor team.”

Like Perry, Sandra Day O’Connor is led by a tandem of senior guard Thalia Daniels and sophomore wing Audrey Bhesania. The Eagles’ second-year coach Charles Wilson is going for the school’s first girls' hoops title.

Prediction: Perry 54, O’Connor 46

5A Conference: No. 3 Waddell Canyon View vs. No. 5 Peoria Sunrise Mountain

Time and location: 6 p.m., Friday, Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

It’s a familiar West Valley battle atop 5A. These two schools played for the same crown last year when Sunrise Mountain snuck past Canyon View to win its first-ever state championship. For much of this year, though, a rematch looked unlikely. Sunrise Mountain struggled to replace its two best players, Mackenzie Nielsen and Mackenzie Dunham. Canyon View had a smoother start but lost a January game to Gilbert Williams Field, which seemed to be the class of 5A. Instead, two familiar names are back.

It makes sense that both of these teams got better as the season progressed. Canyon View’s top four leading scorers — Aaliyah Rogers, Jaila Flowers, Bernadette Carranza and Azalee Tellez — are all sophomores. Sunrise Mountain’s top three scorers are sophomore Addison Wiemann, junior Savanna Dotray and junior Jaden Maza. All three of those players had to adapt to larger roles after the departures of Nielsen and Dunham. The final product is a team that beat Williams Field by 11 in the semifinals.

Canyon View no doubt has the 3-point shooting advantage here, but Wiemann’s size is a game-changer at 6-foot-2. Stopping Sunrise Mountain inside and on the glass will be difficult for Canyon View.

Prediction: Sunrise Mountain 47, Canyon View 44.

4A Conference: No. 1 Tucson Salpointe Catholic vs. No. 2 Gilbert Mesquite

Time and location: 8 p.m., Thursday, Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

For all the benefits of the Open Division, this is a drawback. 4A had three excellent teams this season — these two schools and Chandler Seton Catholic. There’s no doubt that either Salpointe Catholic or Mesquite would be a deserving champion. But it’s a shame that Seton Catholic didn’t get a chance to compete with these schools, all because it made too deep of a run in the Open.

With that out of the way, this is a true heavyweight battle. Salpointe Catholic won its semifinal by 32. Mesquite beat a really strong Flagstaff team in its semifinal. Beyond the results, there’s also a ton of talent on both sides. Mesquite’s Navae Guidry and Vanessa Sepulveda are studs. On the Salpointe Catholic side, Taliyah Henderson is one of the best players in the state. Teammates like Sidney Anderson and Hannah Williams aren’t far behind, and neither are Allison Even and Jordan Watts. That combination of depth and height gives the Lancers an advantage here.

Prediction: Salpointe Catholic 58, Mesquite 45.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona girls high school basketball state championship analysis