Prep
Basketball Roundup
Eagles
suffer first loss of boys hoops season
by
Jason Stone
NORTH
VALLEY – It took the Sandra Day O'Connor boys basketball team
nine games before losing one. The Eagles' streak of season‑opening
wins came to an end Dec. 14 when they lost 80‑68 at
Paradise Valley.
On
the bright side, O'Connor was able to pick up a Northwest
Region victory during the streak. The Eagles, behind 33 points
from Curtis Mitchell and 17 3‑pointers as a team, whipped
Kingman 96‑74 at home Dec. 12. Kingman held a first‑quarter
lead, but the Eagles exploded for 57 points in the second
and third quarters.
The
Eagles had one more game scheduled before the holiday break,
but the Dec. 19 game at Goldwater was played past press time.
Goldwater
(2‑7 overall, 0‑1 Northwest Region) entered the
game on the four‑game losing streak. The Bulldogs lost
their region opener Dec. 14 at Trevor Browne 79‑56.
After the game against O'Connor, Goldwater will be off until
the new year.
Boulder
Creek, meanwhile, carried a 2‑5 record into the week
after losing its region opener at Mountain Ridge Dec. 14.
The game was tied at 28 at halftime, but Mountain Ridge pulled
away in the second half for a 63‑51 win.
Boulder
Creek and O'Connor will be a part of the Great Desert Shoot‑Out
at Cactus Shadows High School.
MORE
BOYS BASKETBALL
Falcons
finding wins hard
to come by
CAVE
CREEK – Cactus Shadows has been having a tough time finding
wins early on in the 2006 season. The Falcons started the
year with seven straight losses before breaking through in
the "W" column with a 72‑56 victory over Scottsdale
Christian in the Horizon Tournament last week.
While
the Falcons become integrated with the addition of late‑arriving
football players, the team suffered through tough times before
finally earning a win Dec. 16. Earlier in that tournament,
the Falcons were beaten by Marcos de Niza (89‑80 on
Dec. 14) and McClintock (78‑51 on Dec. 15).
The
Falcons were scheduled to open Wells Fargo 2 Region play Dec.
19 at home against Sunnyslope. Results of the game were unavailable
at press time. The Falcons were also slated to travel to Flagstaff
Dec. 21 to play at Coconino.
GIRLS
BASKETBALL
Falcons
heat up as
winter looms
CAVE
CREEK – If not for a Dec. 5 loss to Sinagua, the Cactus Shadows'
girls basketball team would be closing in on going an entire
month without suffering a defeat.
The
Falcons improved to 9‑2 and won its fifth game in the
last six tries last week with a narrow 47‑45 win against
Pinnacle.
The
victory against their southern rival gave the Falcons momentum
going into the Wells Fargo 2 Region season. Cactus Shadows
was scheduled to open league play Dec. 19 at Sunnyslope in
a game played past press time.
After
a home non‑region game Dec. 21 against Coconino, the
team will take a few days off for Christmas before heading
back to action the day after to play in the Centennial Tournament.
The Falcons are scheduled to play Mountain Ridge, Moon Valley
and host Centennial in pool games Dec. 26‑27. The final
rounds are scheduled for the night of Dec. 27 and all day
Dec. 28.
Boulder
Creek drops region
opener to Ridge
NORTH
VALLEY – Boulder Creek was searching for its first Northwest
Region victory this week after going 6‑1 in non‑region
games and losing the league opener. The Jaguars dropped the
first region game Dec. 14 against Mountain Ridge, and played
Trevor Browne Dec. 19 in another league game that was played
past press time.
O'Connor
and Goldwater played Dec. 19 in another result not available
at press time. Going into the game, the Eagles carried a 5‑3
record after beating Kingman in their region opener Dec. 12
and whipping Paradise Valley in a non‑region game two
nights later. Eleven Eagle players scored in the 70‑27
rout of Paradise Valley, led by Hilary Bratlien's 15 points
and 12 from Avery Fricker and Sara Mitchell.
Goldwater
(0‑9 overall, 0‑1 region) entered the week still
searching for its first victory.
Reach
the reporter at jason@thedesertadvocate.com.
