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QUEEN CREEK
Boys’ Basketball – The last 15 games of the Bulldogs’ basketball season was highlighted by wins over rival Higley, Williams Field, and Marcos de Niza (twice). Those wins along with an overall strong performance down the stretch allowed the Bulldogs to make the field of 24 in the 2016 Division II State Championship.
Unfortunately, No. 23-seed Queen Creek saw its season come to an end after a first-round 73 – 56 loss at No. 10-seed Catalina Foothills last Thursday night.
“We came a long way from the beginning of the year,” Bulldogs’ head coach Troy Gibson told azpreps365.com writer Andy Morales. “The kids played pretty well towards the end of the season but we didn’t play very well tonight. All credit goes to Foothills.”
The third quarter was the difference in the game.
Catalina Foothills took a 27 – 24 lead to the locker room at halftime before erupting in third quarter, increasing its lead to as many as 18 points. Queen Creek pulled within 12 during the fourth quarter bus was unable to get much closer.
POSTON BUTTE
Boys’ Basketball – The Broncos entered the Section V Championship game on Feb. 13 on an eight-game winning streak that unfortunately couldn’t be extended after a 67 – 56 loss to top-seed Scottsdale Christian Academy. Despite the setback, the Broncos were still one of the hottest teams down the stretch and it earned them a berth in the 2016 Division III State Championship as the No. 21-seed.
The Broncos made the nearly four-hour drive last Tuesday to face No. 10-seed Holbrook in the first round of the state tournament.
Poston Butte started fast and looked good early, opening an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter before Holbrook came back in the second. At halftime the Broncos held a slim 23 – 21 lead.
The third quarter was almost an exact opposite of the first, with Holbrook outscoring the Broncos 17 – 6. The Broncos were unable to mount a comeback in the fourth, preventing them from extending their season for at least one more game.
COMBS
Girls’ Basketball – The Lady Coyotes made history in the first round of the 2016 Division IV State Championship, which took place last Friday at Bradshaw Mountain High School in Prescott Valley.
The No. 14-seed Lady Yotes won their first-ever state tournament game, defeating No. 19 Hopi 40 – 31 to advance to the tournament’s second round, where they faced No. 3-seed Gilbert Christian.
The Lady Knights were determined to not allow the Lady Yotes to make history a second time in the same weekend, as evidenced by their statement-making 40 – 14 win on Saturday.
Gilbert Christian played stifling defense, not allowing Combs to score more than four points in any quarter including the third, where they held the Lady Yotes to only two points.
After winning 19 games a year ago, the Lady Yotes won a school-record 21 games this season and now have three-straight winning seasons since head coach Amanda Webster took over the program before the 2013-14 season.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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