Final Four Fever
Falcons girls make return trip to Glendale
by Jason Stone

CAVE CREEK – It’s déjà vu all over again for the Cactus Shadows girls basketball team.

A year after advancing to the 4A Final Four for the first time ever, the Falcons are back in Glendale for another shot at winning the school’s first girls basketball state championship.

Cactus Shadows made sure of a second straight 4A‑Division II Final Four Feb. 16 with a dramatic 73‑68 victory over Bradshaw Mountain in triple overtime in the quarterfinals.

The Falcons were scheduled to play Wells Fargo 2 Region rival Washington, the defending state champions, in the semifinals Feb. 20 at Jobing.com Arena. However, results were unavailable at press time.

The winner will face the winner of the Page‑Sinagua semifinal in the championship game Feb. 23 at Jobing.com Arena. Tipoff for the title game is set for 3 p.m.

The Falcons are hoping to get past Washington for the first time this season after losing to the Rams three previous times, including a 54‑50 loss Feb. 9 in the Wells Fargo 2 Region tournament championship game.

Cactus Shadows is also hoping to reach the championship game for the first time ever after falling to Sinagua in the semifinals a year ago. The Falcons lost only one player–and their head coach –from last year’s team, but earned another trip to the home of the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Falcons advanced to the semifinals after beating two familiar teams from its region in the first two rounds. First, Cactus Shadows whipped Sunnyslope for the fourth time this season 61‑30 in the first round Feb. 13.

In a classic quarterfinal game, Bradshaw Mountain came in as the No. 12 seed after upsetting fifth‑seeded Tempe in the first round. But the Bears had given the Falcons trouble during the regular season as the team’s split their two meetings.

The rubber match was no different as the Bears took Cactus Shadows to the limit in a game played in Cave Creek.