One of Wichita’s most underrated players helps decide battle of unbeatens
A crowd of media members waited outside the visitors locker room along with an exciting new face.
Zayda Perez, Maize South senior point guard, talked with reporters about her game-high 18 points in the Mavericks’ 48-39 win at Goddard in a game between the last two undefeated teams in Class 5A. Afterward, she talked with a recruiter from Butler County. She made an impression on the court Tuesday night.
“(Assistant) coach Tessa Konen tells me every game, ‘Play your game, play your game,’ ” Perez said.
In the first quarter, Maize South hit four field goals. Perez scored all of them. She had 10 points and handed the Mavericks a 12-6 lead against a team that averaged only 30 points allowed per game.
Then late, Perez was crucial again. With the game sent to the free throw line, Perez was 6-of-6 in the final minutes. Goddard had cut the deficit to as few as two, but Perez slammed the door. Her six points were the most of any player in the fourth quarter.
“A lot of 16-17-year-old girls are probably a little shaky and a little worried in that situation,” coach Ben Hamilton said. “But she stepped up there with complete confidence and knew she’d knock it down. She’s a lead-by-example girl, and it’s great to have those girls in our program.
“It’s a mentality and a mindset that she brings every single day. She plays totally fearless.”
Maize South is on a roll. Not only are the Mavericks now the only undefeated team left in 5A, they are coming off their two biggest wins of the season.
Saturday, Maize South beat then-one-loss Mill Valley by 50 in the championship game of the Lady Cat Classic in El Dorado. Perez was named the tournament’s MVP, scoring 10 in the title game.
After the game, Hamilton took to Twitter calling his point guard, “The most under-recruited player in the state of Kansas.”
Perez said a couple of junior colleges, including Butler, have contacted her, but she hasn’t even gotten in contact with any Division II schools yet. She said she isn’t panicking.
“It’ll come,” she said. “Coach tells me it’ll come. If we keep winning, college coaches will start calling. I’ve been staying patient, knowing my time will come.”
Perez is averaging 8.6 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 steals per game. She is the orchestrator of one of the top offenses in Kansas. Hamilton said she is a “bulldog,” and she has to be.
Perez is 5-foot-6. She is often the shortest player on the court but doesn’t play like it. She brings an emotional edge to the game junior Katie Wagner said has been great for the team.
“We love her,” Wagner said. “Nights like tonight are good to see as a teammate. It’s like, ‘All right, Zayda, let’s keep rolling.’ If someone’s on, they’re on, and we’re feeding.”
Perez is in her first and only season as a Maverick. She transferred from Valley Center after her junior season in which the Hornets finished with almost the same record as last year’s Maize South team. In fact, Valley Center swept the Mavericks thanks in large part to Perez’s production.
She said it was time for a change.
“It feels good knowing I have players and coaches that will push me to be my best,” she said. “I’m thankful for Valley Center, the coaches and players. I just think Maize South is a better fit for me. We all have the same mindset to win and go somewhere with the game in our lives.”
Tuesday’s win was massive in terms of Class 5A West and AVCTL II standings. Wagner said they were carrying momentum off the 50-point win over Mill Valley and felt a sense of urgency coming in.
They will need it again Friday at home against crosstown rival Maize, who enters 12-1 fresh of a midseason tournament championship of its own.
“We had it on the calendar, and we were like, ‘We want Goddard,’ ” Wagner said. “We were looking at it like, ‘Well, we’re both 12-0. One of us is going to be 13-0. One’s going to be 12-1.’ “
This story was originally published January 29, 2019 at 11:28 PM.