Two northern teams among state’s best

GLENDALE, Ariz.

The final curtain for the 2017 Arizona state boys and girls basketball tournament came to a close on Saturday.

Six local teams made the finals in their respective classes with two teams emerging as state champions.

The two teams that won their titles were in the lower class division with their finals taking place at the Prescott Valley Event Center.

The St. Michael Lady Cardinals jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the opening quarter over conference rival Rock Point and never looked back.

The Cardinals avenged four early losses to Rock Point and won the one that counted in the Class 1A bracket.

“I don’t care how many times we played them we were bound to get one win,” said St. Michael coach Carl Adams, following their 57-35 win.

In 2A, the Valley Sanders Lady Pirates put on a clinic and dismantled Gilbert Leading Edge Academy by a 70-39 count. The Lady Pirates, who were the Division V champs last year, breeze through their bracket and won each game by an average of 37 points.

In the 3A division, the Page Lady Sand Devils battled back from a five-point deficit, only to come up short to top-seed Chandler Valley Christian at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Valley Christian junior guard Anna Gorman knocked down a pair of free throws with 8.8 seconds as the Lady Trojans escaped with a 41-40 victory.

In the boys 2A title game, Gilbert Christian beat No. 2 seed Alchesay by a 66-51 count in Prescott Valley.

In the finale at Glendale, the Winslow Bulldogs were outlasted in the 3A title game with eventual winner Fountain Hills hitting 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch en route to a 55-48 win.

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