Girls Basketball Roundup

Jaguars girls hoops roaring out of gate
by Jason Stone

ANTHEM – Boulder Creek has been showing early signs that it might be a force to be reckoned with this season.

The Jaguars surely made the field at the Pepsi Invitational take notice last weekend in Flagstaff. Boulder Creek advanced all the way to the championship game before falling 53‑45 to hometown Sinagua, a state finalist last year.

Sinagua won its second straight Pepsi title thanks to 19 points from Kiki Lockett, who helped Sinagua stage a second‑half comeback. Boulder Creek held the Mustangs to only four points in the first quarter and led 26‑18 at halftime.

But Sinagua showed why it was a 4A state finalist last season in the third quarter. A pair of           3‑pointers within a minute for Sinagua helped cut Boulder Creek's lead to 28‑27. It was part of a larger 23‑8 run in the third quarter that swung the game into Sinagua's favor.

Tashina Hunter led the Jaguars with 14 points, while Nadia Hussain had 11 and Ashley Zeek contributed eight.

"The ladies have come a long way since last year," Boulder Creek coach Theresa Beall said.

Boulder Creek went 3‑1 at the tournament to start the season 6‑1 overall. The Jaguars' loss to Sinagua was the team's first after opening with six straight wins.

In other games in the tournament, Boulder Creek whipped Mingus 70‑45 in the first round, Coconino 58‑46 in the second round and Lake Havasu 52‑18 in the semifinals.

Against Mingus, BCHS outscored the Marauders 21‑7 in the third quarter to take control of the game as every Jaguar player saw action and scored.

In the win over Coconino, Ashley Zeek dominated with 21 points and led all players in rebounding.

Against Lake Havasu in the semifinals, Zeek had another big game with 14 points as 10 BC players scored. The Jaguars outscored Lake Havasu 40‑6 after ending the first quarter in a 12‑all tie.

For the tournament, Zeek averaged 14 points, while Nadia Hussain averaged 6.5 points.

The Jaguars will next play Mountain Ridge (Dec. 14) and Trevor Browne (Dec. 19) before a short winter break. The team regroups right after Christmas for the Flowing Wells Tournament Dec. 27‑29.

Falcons win eight of first 10 games

CAVE CREEK – After suffering only its second loss of the season last week, Cactus Shadows came right back out and put together what it hopes is another winning streak a few nights later.

The Falcons lost for only the second time in nine games Dec. 5 when Flagstaff's Sinagua, the team that defeated Cactus Shadows in the state Final Four last year, caused another defeat, 62‑45. But the team rallied for a 50‑46 road win at Independence three nights later to enter this week with an 8‑2 record.

Cactus Shadows had another non‑region game on the slate (Dec. 12) before opening Wells Fargo 2 Region play Dec. 19 at Sunnyslope.

O'Connor falls in Pepsi semifinals

NORTH VALLEY – Sandra Day O'Connor advanced to the semifinals of the Pepsi Tournament in Flagstaff before falling to eventual champion Sinagua.

Hillary Bratlien did her best to get O'Connor the win against Sinagua with 33 points and 10‑for‑14 shooting from the free‑throw line. But it wasn't enough to get past Sinagua in a 63‑58 loss.

Bratlien's big night meant only six Eagles players scored in the game. Avery Fricker was the only other player in double figures with 10 points.

The game remained close as Sinagua had a horrible night shooting free throws. The Mustangs missed 12 of their 17 attempts from the charity stripe.

Bulldogs open region play

NORTH VALLEY – Goldwater entered Northwest Region play this week still searching for its first victory.

The Bulldogs lost to Peoria and Centennial last week to fall to 0‑8 on the season. The team begins region games against Trevor Browne (Dec. 12) and O'Connor (Dec. 19), its final competitions before the winter break.

Goldwater will return Dec. 27 for Centennial's Nike Tournament of Champions.

Reach the reporter at jason@thedesertadvocate.com.