Rock Point starts fast, advances to semis
Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero Rock Point Lady Cougar Shelby Chee (21) races down the court as Williams Lady Vikings Sydnee Mortensen (5) chases her on Thursday during the Arizona 1A state playoffs in Prescott, Arizona.
PRESCOTT
The Rock Point girls’ basketball team set the tone early as they advanced into today’s Arizona 1A state semifinals with a 64-42 win over Williams on Thursday night.
The second-seeded Lady Cougars, who improve to 23-4 overall, opened the contest with a 19-2 advantage before cruising the rest of the way.
Rock Point coach Andrew Reed said the fast start was a result of the comments made by Williams coach Phillip Echeverria.
“We played them before but a couple of days ago their coach said they were going to be ready for us,” Reed said. “We just wanted to send a message across that we were going to be ready for them too.”
The Cougars definitely sent that message as Williams had a tough time adjusting in that opening quarter.
Williams played much better in the next stanza as they got within 33-20 at the break but Rock Point used another run to open a 52-24 cushion heading into the fourth.
With a sizable lead, Reed used his bench extensively in the fourth as 11 players scored in their 22-point win.
Junior guard Tierra John led the Cougars with 19 points while Rylisha Begay and Tamira John added nine points apiece.
For Williams, senior Maegan Ford finished with a team-high 18 points while junior Sydnee Mortensen added 13.
Rock Point will play No. 4 Fort Thomas at 5 p.m. at Yavapai Community College in Prescott.
“We’re going to play like how we played tonight,” Reed said. “We’re not going to change anything, we’re just going to play tough defense.”
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow