On Friday night at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, during the 5A girls state championship game, Canyon View concluded its late season master class series on “How to raise your coach’s stress level with slow starts."

This finale episode proved to be epic.

After making zero baskets through the first quarter, and a total of just four through the entire first half, the Jaguars somehow managed to stay within striking distance of Raymond S. Kellis until late in the third quarter.

That is when they made their move.

After the Cougars’ Shanielle Mallory nailed a 3-pointer, giving Kellis (29-6) a 28-21 lead with 4:08 left in the third, patience set in for the Jaguars’ offense, triggering a wild ride down the stretch.

Backed by a trio of trifectas off the hot shooting hand of Cynthia Tewksbury, Canyon View (25-6) finished the rest of the game on a 23-12 run and was able to eventually catch and pass the Cougars for a 44-40 win.

In doing so, the Jaguars captured their second straight 5A crown, this time, fraying the nerves of head coach Desirae Carranza a bit in the postseason.

“We had a similar situation at Catalina (Foothills), and we had a similar situation with (Sunrise Mountain),” said Carranza, comparing this night to two previous playoff games in which they also started out very slow.

“I just reminded them you were made for this moment. We were built for this. So just weather the storm, the ups and downs in the game, and they did it,” Carranza added.

For a while it didn’t look at all like they would do it.

A Kellis bucket by freshman Janelle Walker (7 points) with 1:38 left in the first quarter, gave the Cougars their largest lead of the night at 12-3.

In that opening quarter, the Jaguars actually never scored a basket, finishing 0-for-11, recording all seven of their points on free throws, leading to a 12-7 deficit.

It wasn’t until the 5:22 mark of the second quarter before Canyon View finally got a bucket, when Lourdes Carranza connected on a turnaround jumper making it 14-9 in favor of Kellis.

But while the Jaguars offense finally came to life as the third quarter wound down, thanks to Tewksbury, the Cougars found themselves suffering with poor shooting that actually got worse as the game went on.

After hitting just 4-of-17 (23%) in the first quarter, the Kellis shooting took a nosedive even more, making just 7-of-41 (17%) over the final three stanzas, allowing Canyon View to get right back into the game.

Nerves were the likely culprit for Kellis, according to coach Shanelle Balark, a player on the 2009 Kellis squad that won its only title in school history.

“Sometimes, on a stage like this, it’s hard to stay focused. It’s hard to hear each other at times. It’s way different than what we are used to,” Balark said.

“We just haven’t been on this stage. Hats off to Canyon View. They have been here three times now, so they know what to expect,” Balark concluded.

Someone who was used to the stage was Tewksbury, who as a junior was part of the 2024 championship team.

She knew what it would take to win it again.

“I know it’s not just about scoring, but I didn’t have many points on the board. I knew we needed to get back into the game and I know threes are a way to do that so I just shot and got hot,” explained Tewksbury.

On the night, Tewksbury led all scorers with 14 points, while teammate Jaila Flowers recorded a double double (10 points, 10 rebounds). For Kellis, Luz Marian Santos Mas (13 points, 14 rebounds) and Mallory (12 points) both reached double figures on the night as well.