2A-3A Girls Championship Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 2A Girls Championship game <strong>Phoenix Country Day</strong> took on <strong>Pima</strong>. This contest was Pima's opportunity to capture its third consecutive title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lady Eagles of Phoenix Country Day came out fast jumping out to a 7-0 lead. The two time defending champions got settled and closed the gap quickly. At the end of the first quarter the score was tied at 15. To start the 2nd quarter PCDS went on a 5-0 run to get a 20-15 lead. The rest of the 2nd quarter was back and forth with the Lady Roughriders even getting the lead 23-20 for a short time. The Lady Eagles went on a 6-0 run in the final minutes of the quarter. At halftime PCDS held a slim 26-23 lead. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 3rd quarter the Lady Eagles spearheaded by [player_tooltip player_id='443661' first='Olivia' last='Owens'] stretched the lead to 41-32 by the end of the period. In the final period PCDS confidence grew as did the lead by getting to as much as 14. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='604415' first='Ashlynn' last='Chlarson'] did what she could to keep Pima close but it wasn't enough.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top ranked Phoenix Country Day dethroned the Pima Lady Roughriders to capture the 2A Girls Basketball Championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 3A Girls Championship it was the <strong>Lady Cougars</strong> of <strong>Show Low</strong> taking on the defending champion <strong>Alchesay Falcons</strong>. Show Low jumped out to a 6-0 lead but the Falcons quickly responded. Alchesay finally got settled and ended the first quarter on a 12-3 run. The score after one quarter was 12-9 in favor of Alchesay. The Falcons using an overwhelmingly pro Alchesay crowd to it's advantage continued to add to the lead. A three pointer at the buzzer gave the Lady Falcons a 30-18 heading into halftime. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the 3rd quarter Alchesay began to pull away building a lead that got as big as 22 towards the end of the quarter. Alchesay was up 44-24 heading into the 4th quarter. Show Low never got within 15 of Alchesay as the crowd grew louder and louder as the game came to a close. Both teams let the benches finish the game out. The final score was <strong>52-35</strong> with Alchesay capturing its second consecutive 3A girls state title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Here are some of the standouts from these two contests</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='443661' first='Olivia' last='Owens'] <strong>Phoenix Country Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore guard played with a ton of energy and athletically was just way above everyone on the court. She played in attack mode and kept the defense on their heels. Owens has good size for her position and is among the top players in her class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='604415' first='Ashlynn' last='Chlarson']<strong> Pima</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Chlarson is among the best in the class of 2023 and was a handful to handle in the post. She has good footwork and excellent hands. She keeps her defender on her back and really knows how to score. She even showed the ability to step out and shoot the perimeter shot. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='582391' first='Aila' last='Kaibara'] <strong>Phoenix Country Day</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The sophomore guard shot lights out for the Eagles. She was equally effective as an offensive threat or as a distributor. On defense she has very good instincts to go along with active hands. A stock riser in the 2025 class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='612931' first='Jazlyn' last='Nosie'] <strong>Alchesay</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nosie is a flashy guard who played to the crowd and didn't disappoint. She has the ball on a string as evidenced by making defenders fall on multiple occasions. She is a true point guard in that her main objective is to find open teammates. She showed promise as an offensive threat when the chances are there. <br><br><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='605090' first='Aubrie' last='Wilson'] Show Low</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior wing was very active and almost had a double double. She hit the boards very well especially the offensive glass. Her offensive range extended out to the three point line. On defense she made it difficult for the player that she was guarding to ever get comfortable. <br><br><strong>Jenieth Sanchez SF 5'4 2023</strong> <strong>Alchesay</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The senior came up big in her last game for the lady Falcons. She not only led the team in scoring but was the leading rebounder despite not being among the tallest players on the court. Her big first half set the tone for the rest of the game. She is also a willing passer. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->