Arcadia’s young team didn’t buckle until the very end.

It trailed by as much as 13 points in the first half and 11 in the second half. But sophomore Bryce Nixon and her teammates kept making big shots against Cactus Shadows, which made big shots of its own.

Cactus Shadows finally swatted pesky Arcadia away during the final 1:29, when Arcadia’s errors helped Cactus Shadows pull away with a 55-45 win at Gila River Arena. Arcadia stayed in the game by hitting 8 of 13 threes, including five from way beyond the arc from Nixon.

But Cactus Shadows’ bench outscored Arcadia’s 17-0, allowing it to reach the Division II state semifinals. Each of Arcadia’s five starters played between 25-32 minutes Tuesday.

Yee Taylor hit her first shot, a three, with 1:29 remaining to cut Cactus Shadows’ lead to 47-45. But that’s as close as Taylor’s team would get.

No. 2 seed Cactus Shadows (27-4) will play No. 3 Sierra Linda Saturday at 9:15 a.m. at Gila River Arena.

Amy Mazenec, Caitlin Bickle (9 rebounds) and Cloe Warrington (3, 3-pointers) each scored in double figures for Cactus Shadows. Arcadia’s (23-8) Taylor Houser led all players with 10 rebounds.

Cactus Shadows finished with a 38-21 rebounding edge. 

Seton Catholic avenges title loss

Seton Catholic continued its D-II postseason run with another dominant performance.

Tuesday’s 57-40 quarterfinal trouncing of Maricopa was a year in the making. Maricopa upset Seton Catholic in last year’s Division II state championship game.

Like last year, Seton Catholic had a height advantage Tuesday, but unlike last year Maricopa didn’t have much success attacking the basket. Seton Catholic scored 16 points off turnovers and 14 second chance points in the first half to jump out to a 35-13 halftime lead.

Maricopa was more aggressive in the third quarter, when it outscored Seton Catholic 18-8. Sarah Barcello (16 points) and Liz Holter (11 points) led the way for Seton Catholic.

The Wirth twins of Seton Catholic, Jenn and LeeAnne, each had seven rebounds.  

 Sierra Linda's pressure too much for Prescott

Sierra Linda’s in-your-face pressure forced its state D-II quarterfinal opponent to turn the ball over early and often en route to a 53-23 state quarterfinal victory over Prescott at Gila River Arena.

Sierra Linda (30-3) scored 18 of its 27 first half points off turnovers while holding Prescott to just nine first half points. Prescott didn’t score its first bucket until 17 seconds remained in the first period.

Six players had at least one steal or more in the first half for Sierra Linda, which saw its leading scorer, Janae Gonzales, score 12 points in the first half. Gonzales was sporting a right black right eye before the game started, but it didn’t keep her from hitting 7 of her 12 first half shots.

The sophomore finished with a game-high 21 points and six boards. Junior Jenay Bojorquez totaled 15 points and nine assists for Sierra Linda.  

Mesa advances to semifinals

A 9-2 run to close the second period helped Mesa (27-4) keep Sahuaro at bay in its 35-24 state quarterfinal victory at Gila River Arena.

Mesa went in at halftime leading 21-11 with the help Carley Turnbull’s second period six points. Turnbull led all scorers with 19 points and scored most of Mesa’s 16 points in the paint.

Sahuaro cut Mesa’s lead to six points a couple of times in the second half but couldn't get any closer. This year marked the first time that Mesa won a playoff game since 2002.

Sydney Harden (5 of 9 from the field) had 14 points and eight rebounds for Sahuaro. Diamond Fuller and Turnbull collected a combined 21 of Mesa’s 36 rebounds.

Turnbull finished three steals shy of a triple-double. Sahuaro went 0-12 from beyond the arc.