Flagstaff girls rally past Prescott

FLAGSTAFF

Just when things seemed totally off for the Flagstaff girls’ basketball team, the potential for an upset was there.

The No. 2 seeded Prescott Lady Badgers had the crowd on their side last Saturday night as they jumped out to an early 18-2 lead against Flagstaff.

But after a much-needed timeout, the top-seeded Lady Eagles responded with a 9-2 run, which made the game more manageable at the break as Flagstaff topped the Badgers 46-42 to win this year’s sectional championship game.

“We expected them to come out a lot stronger than last time since it was for the sectional championship,” Flagstaff sophomore post Nizhoni Thomas said of Prescott. “They were the second best team in our section but we had to pick up our intensity and execute our plays.”

With the win, the Eagles earned the No. 5 seed for this year’s Arizona Division II state basketball tournament. On Friday, Flagstaff will host the survivor of Wednesday’s match between No. 13 Casa Grande and No. 20 seed Norte Dame Prep. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Flagstaff High.

“I am happy the girls stuck through and they persevered,” Flagstaff coach Tyrone Johnson said. “It’s big to get that first round bye but it’s even bigger to be at home in the next round.”

For awhile though, it looked liked the Eagles were in for a long night.

Thanks to the Badgers’ shifting defense and patient approach on offense, Prescott seized the early momentum and scored the first 12 points.

The Eagles finally got on board when senior Anika Francis connected with two free throws with 29 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Prescott, however, pushed its lead to 16 in the early going of the second quarter on back-to-back treys before Johnson burned his first timeout.

“I wasn’t in a panic mood so I didn’t call a time out,” Johnson said. “I wanted them to figure it out but when it got 18-2 I had to take a timeout and get them refocused. I felt like if we stuck to the game plan we would get back into this game.”’

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