The Trojan girls basketball program is on a roll finishing the regular season and heading into state playoffs.

The girls basketball team started on Friday, February 3rd taking on cross-town rivals, Gilbert Christian. The Knights were coming into the evening with a perfect record and stood first in the region and first in 3A. The Trojans trailed the majority of the game and ultimately fell 20-45 to the Knights. Leading scorers were Bree Hanzal with 6 points, and Ellie Phillips and Abbey Mello each added 5. 

The Trojans came back out strong and fired up after that loss with a barn-burner in Bradley Gym against Coolidge High School. The girls jumped out to an early lead in the 1st quarter and held on in the 2nd, leading 31-19 heading into halftime. They continued their excellent play in the 3rd quarter, holding onto the lead, 44-35. As the gym started filling up for a re-match of the boys state championship game, tensions were rising on the court as well. The Trojans dropped some key points to the Bears and at the end of four quarters of play it was tied 51-51, sending the game into overtime in front of a packed crowd. During overtime, the Trojans brought out great defense and came out on top, 60-56!! It was a great game to witness!

The girls then drove to Florence for their last game of regular season play, where they were hoping to clinch the win and finish the season 2nd in the region. The game was tight all night long and ultimately the Trojans came out on top by just an inch, winning 42-41 on the road!

The team finished 7-1 in region play and ended the regular season ranked 2nd in their region and 15th in the state. This allowed the girls to have a home game for the first round of state. 

The Trojans kicked off state playoffs in Round 1 by taking on the Yellowjackets of Blue Ridge High School on Thursday, February 16th at 2:00 PM. This game was rescheduled because of weather delays, and because it was at 2:00 PM, it allowed the Blue Crew to show up to support the girls in a dominant victory. The game got off to a slow start with both teams missing several shots and ending the first quarter 8-4. In the second quarter the Trojans picked up steam and increased their margin to 21-12 heading into halftime. The team caught fire in the 3rd off back to back 3's from junior Jacqui LaGatta as they extended the lead to 19 and finished the quarter up 37-18. The Trojans put an exclamation mark on their play in the fourth quarter, finishing 48-23 to head into the second round of state. 

Make sure to cheer on your Trojans as they hit the road to head 5 hours up the highway to Monument Valley High School. This will be a tough match for the girls as the Mustangs are ranked 2nd in the state, but we are rooting them on and believe they can play great basketball today! LET'S GO TROJANS!

Ticket Link: https://gofan.co/app/events/908298
State Tournament Bracket: https://azpreps365.com/brackets/basketball-girls/3a/1202-2023-aia-girls-basketball-3a-state-championship