Alchesay girls’ defense leads to victory

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz.

After conceding the first 5 points, the Alchesay Lady Falcons scored the next 18.

That run was one of many as the sixth-seeded Falcons made easy work of No. 3 Winslow.

Alchesay led by as much as 31 points before winning 71-52 in the Arizona 3A state quarterfinals on Monday at the Findlay Toyota Center.

The Falcons scored in waves with most of those points coming off its relentless pressure on the defensive end.

“The press worked really well and when they follow it – it’s hard for other teams to do anything because those girls are like pit bulls,” Alchesay coach Rick Sanchez said. “They jump into your face, and what they can do is tremendous.”

With the 19-point win, Alchesay advances into Friday’s semifinals against No. 7 seed Holbrook at the Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

“It’s wonderful,” Sanchez said of making the Final Four. “At this point we’re just playing games. I told the girls don’t get too hung up about it. We’re just playing another game and we’re playing for fun.

“I don’t mean to be cavalier about it,” he added. “I’m not saying it doesn’t mean anything because it means a lot to the girls, to the school and to the community.

“But we take it one game at a time,” he said, “and we’re not making it bigger than it is because if we do that, we’ll get big-headed or we’ll get scared.”

Instead, Sanchez said, they need to keep their emotions in check.

“We need to keep it light and just remember that it’s just a game and we’re out there because we love to play this game,” he said.

In Monday’s contest, Winslow finished with 21 turnovers. They also missed 22 shots and most of those were a result of being rushed.

“They play a very aggressive zone,” Winslow coach Jerron Jordan said. “You know, we prepared for it, but they did a good job. Coach Sanchez’s kids played very well tonight.

“They seem to be really peaking as a team, having won the 3A North Region Tournament,” he added.

Jordan said they came out really strong behind senior guard Kylie Begay’s five points, but the Falcons got eight points from sophomore Jazlyn Nosie and four from junior Jeneith Sanchez during its 18-0 run.

“We looked like we’re gonna make a good run and credit to the Falcons they got hot from the outside,” Jordan said. “Our defense wasn’t as good as it normally is, and they kept pushing and made a run.

“Everything they shot seemed to go in and we just struggled to find the field tonight,” he said.

After a basket by Begay, the Falcons ended the opening quarter on an 8-3 run for a 26-9 cushion.

Begay got off to another hot start by hitting three treys, but the Falcons had an answer as they led 32-18 with just under five minutes to go.

At the half, Alchesay led 48-26 with Nosie and Sanchez combining for 31 points with Nosie scoring 17.

For Winslow, Begay put in 20 of her game-best 33 points in the opening half. The senior guard hit 13 field goals, including five treys.

“I thought Kylie played awesome tonight,” Jordan said. “I’m so fortunate to have had her for four years. She’s our main player and she had a great career. She had 1,000 points.

“She probably would have got it done last year but we didn’t have any tournaments,” he said.

Begay added another nine in the third stanza but Alchesay went on a few scoring runs to open up a 71-40 cushion heading into the fourth.

Nosie finished the contest with 23 points while Sanchez and senior Brandy Edwards both chipped in 18.

“This is a team sport, and we have a motto and it’s ‘we win as a team and we lose as a team,’” Jordan said. “Alchesay played really well tonight. We were playing well prior to tonight.

“Sure, we’d like to come out a little bit better, but it is what it is,” he added. “We had a very good year, and our season is not defined by this one game.”

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