Corona center stands out at San Jon game

SAN JON - The San Jon girls basketball team had one player in particular to worry about during its game Friday against Corona-Vaughn, and it was impossible to not notice her.

That player was 6-foot-5 freshman center Harper Dunn, who stands literally heads and shoulders above teammates and opponents. She is believed to be the tallest girls player in New Mexico. She has attracted recruiting attention from national contenders Louisiana State University and Iowa, to name a few.

During Friday's 66-15 victory by the Cardinals over a rebuilding Coyotes team, Dunn blocked 10 shots, giving her 185 on the season. She is averaging 8.7 blocked shots per game, fifth in the nation.

She broke the previous single-season shots-blocked record of 172 by Los Lunas' Teige Zeller during the 2012-2013 season.

Dunn also scored 29 points and grabbed 20 rebounds against San Jon.

San Jon coach Gib Donovan couldn't help but be impressed with all that production from a freshman.

"It blows my mind," he said. "She's got a pterodactyl wingspan, right? Just the height and the athleticism ... she's going to be the one to look for over the next couple of years."

Donovan was asked what advice he gave to his team on how to handle such an absurdly tall player.

"Get out, be large as they can and jump for the ball," he said. "There's no way to defend that other than just to put a man on them, put a body on them and push."

He praised sophomore guard Summer Jennings for her defense on Dunn.

"I don't know how many times she ripped a ball out of that girl's hands," Donovan said. "Probably four or five times today. And she just did it like I told her: Get out in front."

Corona-Vaughn coach Terri Whitecotton Racher said Dunn's only significant weakness is her inexperience.

"Sometimes she's just 14 years old, right?" she said. "She really has some good fundamentals. We've worked on a lot of things to keep her out of foul trouble and all kinds of things ... the timing on her blocks, rebounds and such."

Racher admitted Dunn needs to work on her ball-handling skills. She also casually mentioned Dunn "has a beautiful outside shot."

Showing the Cardinals aren't a one-trick pony with Dunn, teammate Kassidy Lightfoot scored 32 points against San Jon.

Corona-Vaughn improved to 18-3 and has punched its ticket to the Class 1A playoffs with an 8-0 record in district play.

San Jon fell to 3-13 overall.

San Jon senior Sarah Archuleta led the Coyotes with eight points.