A year ago, Rincon/University freshman basketball player Leila O’Dowd averaged 22.4 points per game, becoming one of the most productive freshmen basketball players in Tucson history, boys or girls. This year, she has taken it to another level.
Last week, she played five consecutive days for the Rangers: three basketball games and two soccer matches.
She became Rincon’s starting goalkeeper after an injury to a fellow Ranger, and in O’Dowd’s first game, Wednesday against Sunnyside, she stopped all of Sunnyside’s shots on goal in a 1-0 victory. She was also the goalkeeper in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Phoenix Sunnyslope. A rare three-sport athlete, O’Dowd also plays for Rincon’s varsity girls volleyball team.
O’Dowd started the week with back-to-back basketball games of 33 points in a Monday win over Sierra Vista Buena and then scored 38 a night later in a victory over Tucson High. On Friday, she scored 22 in a victory over Marana, giving her 1,027 for her career. She is the fourth-leading scorer among big schools in Arizona.
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If anyone has ever deserved a “Player of the Week†award, it’s O’Dowd, who has helped coach Darryl Carlson’s team to a 15-7 record in Class 6A.
Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at GHansenAZStar@gmail.com. On X(Twitter): @ghansen711
Greg Hansen
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