A trio of 2A semifinals were played at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley on Friday, with one taking place in Phoenix. And despite the late start and uncertainties, the players didn’t show any adverse effects to the changes.

Girls: Alchesay 38, Chandler Prep 30

An eight-minute scoring drought in the first half was not enough to derail sixth-seeded Alchesay in its 38-30 upset win over second-ranked Chandler Prep. The Falcons jumped out 7-2 midway through the first quarter, but found themselves down 11-7 with just over five minutes to go until halftime. After that point, a steady rotation of Alchesay’s Devanie Cosay, Vercelia Martinez and D’Ara Dosela down low contested every Titans possession. The Falcons took the lead back at 17-16 with a minute left in the second quarter and never looked back. Alchesay will going for only its second title (the first coming in 1996) on Saturday.

“I didn’t have to tell them anything to get back into the game,” said coach Rick Sanchez. “When they want to play, they can play. They just turn it on. They have no quit in them. They just want to win.”

Boys: Alchesay 61, Pima 56

Shane Stover’s steal and two free throws after being fouled with 52 seconds left sealed the 61-56 semifinal win for Alchesay. In what was a close contest until the end of the fourth quarter, the Falcons rode the hot hand of senior guard Kellen Parish in the second half to pull away from the Roughriders. Parrish finished with 24 points, and the Roughriders found themselves in foul trouble in trying to shut down the Falcons late in the game. Alchesay is going for its first title since 1993 and will be making its third straight title game appearance. Senior Dawson Pruszynski finished with 24 points in the losing effort as the 11th-ranked Pima scored a pair of upsets to reach the semifinal.

Head coach Kyle Goklish said, “We wanted the tempo to be up in our favor. And in the third quarter we kept at it and attacking with our offense. I think it was one of those games where Kellen was feeding off the crowd and the team, so he just took the ball and took it to the bucket or pull up to shoot the three. He played with a lot of heart, and that’s what we tell our kids.”

Girls: Scottsdale Christian 44, St. Johns 35

The fourth-ranked Eagles found the scoring tough, but did enough to muscle past St. Johns 44-35 to advance to the state championship game. Head coach Bob Fredericks, who coached the boys team earlier in the day to a victory in Phoenix, headed up to Prescott Valley in time for his girls game. Solid guard play from senior Kylie Hearn and clutch outside shooting were too much for the ninth-seeded Redskins. With the game tied at 25-all with 1:33 left in the third, Scottsdale Christian junior Jordan McDonald drained a three-pointer to give her team a lead it would not relinquish.

“We had some good defensive stops that we weren’t able to make in the second quarter,” mentioned Fredericks. “Then we got out on the break and gave ourselves a little bit of a cushion. We didn’t hit a lot of free throws, but enough of them to hold the lead.”

Boys: Scottsdale Christian 62, Thatcher 46

No. 1 Scottsdale Christian showed its might against fourth-ranked Thatcher in a game played at Greenway High School in Phoenix. The Eagles are now looking for their seventh championship, and second in four years.

Said Fredericks, “This game was closer than the score indicated for a while. But our kids executed offense, particularly set plays, very well. We hit key shots, rebounded and hit free throws in the fourth quarter. And that’s a great combination.”

Both 2A championship games will feature Scottsdale Christian vs. Alchesay and will be played at Highland High School in Gilbert on Saturday. The girls game will be at 4 p.m., and the boys will follow at 6.