Much like their male counterparts, the Patagonia High girls basketball team is hoping to force its way into the state playoffs with a strong finish.
The Lobos held off North Phoenix Prep for a 38-31 Senior Night victory on Tuesday, their third victory in four games over the past week.
It was only fitting that the seniors carried the load for the Lobos, accounting for 35 of the 38 points. Emma Lewton led the way with 14, Brianna Majalca scored 13, and Valeria Castellanos and Ximena Gonzalez had four apiece.
The Lobos improved their record to 7-13 overall and 4-7 in games used to calculate state rankings. They entered Tuesday’s play ranked 24th in Class 1A with three games remaining. The top 24 teams qualify for the state tournament.
Majalca and Lewton have played together since the fourth grade, and while it was rewarding to walk off their homecourt after a victory, it also came with other emotions.
“Very sad,” Majalca said. “We were little fourth graders when we first played in this gym, and now it’s all over.”
Not quite totally over. There are still road games to play at Valley Union on Thursday, San Manuel on Friday and Lourdes Catholic on Monday, and the Lobos will be trying to sustain the momentum built up in the last week with their wins over ASDB (56-16), Ray (49-36) and North Phoenix.
Tuesday’s win was a nice bounceback following a 67-47 loss at Tombstone on Monday. The Lobos didn’t trail after a Majalca basket gave them a 5-4 lead midway through the first quarter. The lead grew to 25-15 by halftime, as Majalca and Lewton combined for 14 points in the second quarter.
But Patagonia went cold to start the second half, and North Phoenix went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 27-26 early in the final quarter. Lewton scored four consecutive points to give Patagonia a small cushion, but North Phoenix’s Samantha Daniel hit a three-point shot to make it 33-31.
The Gladiators would not score again. A basket by Majalca put the Lobos back up by four with 2:22 to play, and Viviana Pelayo drained a three-pointer in the final seconds to provide the final margin.