Mesquite at Seton: A Wild Finish

Thursday January 11th I attended the 4A matchup of #3 Mesquite Wildcats at #1 Seton Catholic Sentinels.    It was a wild finish to say the least. Seton led almost from start to finish until [player_tooltip player_id='558898' first='Kahlia' last='Gonzales'] hit a 3 under a minute to give them their 1st lead at 32-31.   [player_tooltip player_id='660337' first='Sophie' last='Morales'] hit a floater to give Seton a 33-32 lead with 27 seconds to play and [player_tooltip player_id='530987' first='Navae' last='Guidry'] converted two FT's to give the Wildcats a 34-33 lead. Seton ended up winning 35-34 at the buzzer by [player_tooltip player_id='660334' first='Mia' last='DiPuccio'] in dramatic fashion.   The officiating the entire night was not the greatest. Many questionable calls and the last play was in question as the clock operator delayed starting the clock all together.    Regardless of the outcome, it was a great game from start to finish for two teams who can easily win it all in 4A or be one of the final-8 teams in the OPEN.     Before the Varsity game I took in the JV game led by mostly freshmen.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some of the JV standouts</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='836786' first='Tracey' last='Ineza'] Seton Catholic   A good sized freshman forward plays physically and can rebound and score. She will rip thru and will score effectively around the rim. The lefty forward rebounds well in her area with high effort.   [player_tooltip player_id='836788' first='Skylie' last='Gonzales'] Mesquite    A point guard with a tight handle who can score. She has quick hands and is a good passer. Shes uses her open court speed and quick burst to get downhill to the rim and the youngest Gonzales daughter has skill.   Mary Allen PG 5'3 Jr Mesquite   A scoring PG is undersized but fast in the open court. She scores layups with her left or right hand. She rebounds well despite her size and is quick on the ball defensively. She uses her right hand often but has a fast burst into the lane with a polished runner.   [player_tooltip player_id='755552' first='Naliyah' last='Guidry'] Mesquite   A defensive point guard is a great passer and ball handler. She can be a future ball hawk on defense with good lateral quickness. She really sees the court well and throws girls open to score. She can blow by to the basket or shoot it from the perimeter.   [player_tooltip player_id='836787' first='Isabella' last='Solis'] Mesquite   A quick point guard is a catch shooter. She is a good passer up the court and has quick feet to stay with her opponents. She made multiple catch threes with a fast release.   [player_tooltip player_id='755556' first='Jensen' last='Cowart'] Mesquite    The freshman forward dominated this game from start to finish with about 30 points. She moves well from end to end and is deceptively quick. She scores it multiple ways with contested shots with either hand, cuts to the rim, drop steps and outraced her opponents many times. She is super aggressive on defense with her strength and is great in the passing lanes.   [player_tooltip player_id='836785' first='Lizzie' last='Norton'] Mesquite   A face-up wing handles it, makes good decisions with the ball and rebounds. She can step out and shoot the three, crab dribble to the rim and stop and pop from mid-range. She is very fluid to move in space on defense and will even block a shot or two.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were some of the Varsity standouts</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='660334' first='Mia' last='DiPuccio'] Seton Catholic   A physical power forward uses her size and strength to her advantage. She scores it by facing up to the three and working inside. She is efficient inside sealing her defender, using drop steps, has the mid-range J and will crab dribble to score. On top of that, she hit the shot at the buzzer to win the game.    [player_tooltip player_id='660337' first='Sophie' last='Morales'] Seton Catholic   A throw back pure point guard makes pocket passes look normal and made a couple ropes up the court. She is also a good post entry passer to her bigs. She plays at a different pace than most and understands how to change speeds. She will score on blow-by layups with her right hand and made a huge floater under a minute. She is tough to rebound despite size and is very disruptive on defense.   [player_tooltip player_id='669795' first='Caitlyn' last='Benally'] Seton Catholic   The lone senior starter for the Sentinels is a strong post player. Shes knows how to seal her opponents and go to work or get fouled. She is hard to handle in the paint one on one with reverse layup and tough contested shots. She also made a few beautiful passes up the court. She is a strong two-handed rebounder in her area with her broader shoulders.   [player_tooltip player_id='655631' first='Carmella' last='Gallardo'] Seton Catholic   The clear sniper of the team is Carmella. She has a quick release on her catch and shoot triples with range. She will rebound inside and has quick hands to rip some pockets.   [player_tooltip player_id='836804' first='Raigan' last='Gregston'] Seton Catholic   A taller forward makes her money on the defensive end. She moves her feet well for her size and position to defend guards and wings. She boxes out and rebounds with her great size and long arms plus will blocks shots. She moves the ball quickly and plays within herself. A perfect glue player for the Sentinels.   [player_tooltip player_id='530987' first='Navae' last='Guidry'] Mesquite   One of the mismatch players in all of 4A is a tough cover. She gets to her spots with her tighter handle for position and will score or cash in on her free throws. She utilizes multiple counter moves to score and absorbs the contact. She has an elite motor to rebound in and out of her area and holds her ground in the paint to defend taller players.   [player_tooltip player_id='558898' first='Kahlia' last='Gonzales'] Mesquite   The pure point guard in the starting unit is Gonzales. She has a tight handle and can crossover to get the defense off of her. She can step back and shoot the three off the dribble. She will burst to get downhill to score and boxes out strongly to rebound. She made a clutch three under a minute to give them their first lead of the game. She is as steady as it gets.   [player_tooltip player_id='530990' first='Vanessa' last='Rae Sepulveda'] Mesquite   The Wildcats lone senior starter is a natural scorer. Her handle allows her to gain separation from her defenders and will crossover into a pull-up or get to the free throw line. She is a very good passer to slip into the paint after she bursts into the lane, as not many defenders were able to stay in front of her.   [player_tooltip player_id='836824' first='Pippa' last='Krieger'] Mesquite   A face-up power forward has a pretty touch from the perimeter. She is a plus rebounder for position and will block shots. She can rattle in threes off the catch with a quick release and plays a smart brand of ball.

Thursday January 11th I attended the 4A matchup of #3 Mesquite Wildcats at #1 Seton Catholic Sentinels.