It’s been a long uphill climb, but the state playoffs are within reach for the Patagonia High girls and boys basketball teams.
Both teams are currently ranked 23rd in Class 1A heading into this weekend’s 1A South regional tournament in St. David. The top 24 boys and girls teams after this weekend earn state playoff berths.
The Patagonia girls will play Valley Union at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, and the boys take on Lourdes Catholic at 7 p.m.
Both teams enter the postseason with positive momentum.
The girls are 10-13 overall but have won their last two games and five of their last seven. They defeated San Manuel 55-25 last Friday, getting 17 points from Valeria Castellanos, 16 from Emma Lewton and 12 from Brianna Majalca, and then finished the regular season with a 67-8 thumping of Lourdes Catholic on Monday. The Lobos will be trying to avenge two regular-season losses to Valley Union—38-27 on Jan. 29 and 41-33 on Dec. 18.Â
The Lobo boys (14-13 overall) survived a dizzying late-season schedule that saw them playing seven games over an 11-day stretch without several of their key players. They won six of the seven games and have a 9-3 record since the start of January.
The lone loss over the final seven games was a 49-43 setback at Valley Union last Thursday. Valley Union shot 59 percent from the field, outrebounded the Lobos 29-19 and forced 24 turnovers. Patagonia senior center Gavin Arbizo sat out with an ankle injury, and senior guard Noah Gallardo suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the game.
The loss threatened to derail the Lobos’ late-season surge, but they regrouped and managed to win their final three games, all on the road.
On Friday, they traveled to San Manuel and came away with a 46-36 victory. Junior Kannon Shore had 22 points and 11 rebounds, senior Gus Varela scored 15, making four three-point baskets, and sophomore Marco Vasquez had 10 rebounds.
Varela missed Monday’s game at Lourdes Catholic due to illness, but Arbizo made a limited return to the court, and the Lobos responded with their best offensive performance of the season. They made 10 three-point baskets—including five by Shore and three by Vasquez—en route to a 69-52 win. Shore finished with 29 points, Vasquez had 16 and Diego Padilla scored 11.
The Lobos finished up the whirlwind stretch with a 53-20 win at ASDB on Tuesday. Arbizo sat out again, but Patagonia was in control from start to finish. Shore led the scoring with 14 points, and Vasquez, who has stepped up his game while taking on a larger role, added nine.