Shadow Mountain, Gilbert Christian, Dobson, Millennium win
February 25, 2015 by Jose Garcia, AZPreps365
Shadow Mountain got off to a fast start Wednesday and never looked back in its 62-45 state Division II boys quarterfinal victory over Sunnyside at Gila River Arena.
Shadow Mountain has been playing without injured point guard Michael Bibby Jr., but the team still has plenty of weapons, including Craig Randall, who scored a game-high 24 points in 32 minutes for Shadow Mountain.
Jeffrey Rhymes (18 points) and Issiah Jones (10 points, 11 rebounds) also scored in double figures for Shadow Mountain, the defending D-II champ and this year’s No. 1 seed.
Shadow Mountain will face Gilbert Christian, considered the other favorite in the D-II boys state title race, in Saturday’s semifinals at Gila River Arena. One of Gilbert Christian’s star players, Cameron Satterwhite, stepped up in the end to help put away a well-coached Flagstaff team, 56-53, in the other quarterfinal game at Gila River Arena.
Satterwhite (20 points) scored nine of his team’s final 12 points, including a jumper to give Gilbert Christian the lead for good (55-53). Flagstaff, a D-II finalist last year, couldn’t hold on to a 53-47 lead late in the game.
Flagstaff outrebounded Gilbert Christian (30-28), but Gilbert Christian outshot (51.1 percent to 41.2 percent) its opponent to help set up the highly anticipated matchup against Shadow Mountain.
At Grand Canyon University
Mesa Dobson clinched its third state Division I girls basketball semifinal berth in the past four years thanks to a strong third period and defensive pressure late in its game Wednesday.
Hamilton almost overcame a 12-point second half deficit, but failed to convert down the stretch in its 45-41 loss at Grand Canyon University. Dobson went into halftime with the momentum after Dyesha Stahley (team-high 16 points) sank a three at the buzzer, giving her team a 24-21 lead.
Dobson grabbed a double digit lead in the third quarter, but Hamilton’s Maddie Fredricks’ three three pointers in the second half helped her team recover.
Hamilton trailed by two twice in the second half and had the ball with 11 seconds left in the game, trailing 43-41, but it turned the ball over on an inbounds play, allowing Dobson to close the game out. Zayn Dornstauder had four of Hamilton’s eight blocks in the game.
But Dobson outrebounded Hamilton 43-23.
In a battle featuring two of the West Valley’s girls basketball powers, Millennium upended Valley Vista 45-31 in the first game at Grand Canyon. Millennium won despite seeing its leading scorer, Raina Perez, record only three points.
But Quynee Huggins (19 points) and Wati Franklin (11 points, 12 rebounds) did more than their share to help Millennium, which held Valley Vista to just one basket in the third quarter.