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Jason Stone photo

Cactus Shadows sophomore point guard Alex Easterbrook fires off a pass while airborne between two Washington defenders Feb. 20 during the second half of the Falcons’ state semifinal loss at Jobing.com Arena. The Falcons reached the state Final Four for the second straight year, but lost to Washington for the fourth time this season to finish with a 22‑11 record.
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Final Four finishes Falcons’ playoff run
Washington gets better of Cactus Shadows for fourth time
by Jason Stone

CAVE CREEK – The third time wasn’t the charm. Unfortunately for fans of the Cactus Shadows girls basketball team, the fourth time wasn’t either.

The Falcons could not find a way to solve the mystery of two‑time state champion Washington in four meetings this season, the last coming Feb. 20 in the 4A‑Division II Final Four at Jobing.com Arena.

The Rams, who eventually defended last year’s state title, turned a close game in the third quarter into a rout in beating the Falcons 62‑37 at the home of the Phoenix Coyotes. The loss ended the Falcons’ season with a 22‑11 record.

Washington, meanwhile, beat Sinagua in the championship game three days later to earn its second straight state title.

Cactus Shadows was trying to slay two dragons in the Final Four game–Washington and the failure to reach the school’s first‑ever championship game.

The Falcons first reached the Final Four a year ago, but an injury to star player Lara Kilgore midway through the game stopped any chances of the team advancing to the championship.

This time, however, Washington simply proved it was a better team. That wasn’t too certain going in when the Rams only beat the Falcons by four points Feb. 9 in the championship game of the Wells Fargo 2 Region tournament after trouncing Cactus Shadows by scores of 73‑38 and 75‑47 in two regular season games.

For 2‑1/2 quarters in the state semifinals, it appeared the gap between the two teams had, in fact, closed. Despite Washington holding a lead most of the way, the Falcons stayed in striking distance throughout the first half and made a run in the third quarter.

The Rams took a 24‑15 lead into halftime despite shooting less than 30 percent in the half. That was partly because the Falcons shot even worse (5‑for‑21) and committed nine first‑half turnovers to Washington’s two.

Early in the third quarter, however, Washington continued to shoot poorly from the field and a 10‑5 run for the Falcons made the deficit only 29‑25 with 2:52 left in the third quarter. When Washington called a timeout to regroup, Cactus Shadows coach Ryan Pletnick pumped his fist and the Falcons’ bench enthusiastically sprung up to meet the court players.

That enthusiasm proved to be short‑lived when the Rams began their championship push. Much like the Phoenix Suns, who can score points in bunches in the matter of minutes, Washington pushed the lead to more than 20 early in the fourth quarter.

Washington outscored Cactus Shadows 33‑12 from when the lead was cut to four until the end of the game.

The game was the final one for seven seniors and an eighth (Clare Gersh) who missed the season because of an injury. Those who played their last games for the Falcons include Sara Pages, Kelly Foley, Megan Machin, Rachael Stevens, Amanda Hagerman, Tina Razo and Erin Cleary.

Pletnick, who was in his first season as head coach after the departure of Bill Dolezal during the offseason, will have a talented group of incoming juniors to work with next year. Despite likely having only one senior (Courtney Asche), Pletnick will likely have the services of point guard Alex Easterbrook, Natalie Omundson, Nicole Farrrell, Elizabeth Shoulders and Lacey Modzeleski back in the fold in 2007‑08.

The Falcons are moving up a division next season. They will play in 4A‑Division I in a region with schools mostly from Scottsdale and the East Valley. For the last two years, Cactus Shadows has been a 4A‑II school aligned with Washington, Bradshaw Mountain, Sunnyslope and Notre Dame.

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