Last week on February 6th, the Trojan girls basketball team hit the road to play in a heated 3A South Central Region matchup to seal the deal for the region title. Coming into the game the Valley Christian Trojans were ranked #4 in the 3A conference and the Coolidge Bears were ranked #5. Going into the game the girls knew it would be a tough challenge and win would be a determining factor in who would win the region title. Not only were the Trojans and the Bears neck and neck in the conference, but in the region the Trojans were ranked #1 while the Bears were right behind them as the #2. The Trojans were determined to seal the deal in taking number one in the region. This game was jam packed as the fans from both teams were anxious to see the results of the match up.
The Trojans started the first quarter off strong, led by freshman Abby Grier, who came off the bench dropping 5 bucks to give the Lady Trojans an 11-6 lead. The second quarter ended with the Bears leading 22-19, but the Bears didn't know that this would give the Trojans more fuel to finish the game off and fight strong second half. The Trojans came out from the half with more momentum and the third quarter ended with Valley leading 32-27. Late in the fourth quarter the teams were neck and neck as the lead was being passed back and forth. It was anyone's game. With 15 seconds left in the game the Trojans were trailing by 1 point, but senior Bree Hanzal pulled down a tough rebound, ran the floor and passed it to sophomore point guard Ellie Philips. Ellie then threw a dime to junior Ariana Maurer who made the lay up to put the Trojans up by 1! A timeout from the Bears was called with 2.3 seconds left on the clock, the Bears inbounded from the far baseline of their basket and chucked up a shot from half court, but Bree Hanzal made a nice block. THE TROJANS WON! They earned the title of the 3A South Central Region Champions!
Assistant Coach Damon Sterling shared that leading up to the game he knew the team would take the win and the reason he was so confident is because he trusts and has confidence in our starters, our bench, and our coaches. He reflected, "it was one of the most exciting games I have been a part of! It was nice to see Ariana Maurer hit the game winning left handed layup, which was out of her norm, and was super big to see her get her shining moment!"
Maurer shared her thoughts on the game, "this game was very beneficial and showed our ability as a team to stay calm and poised. This game was great preparation for playoffs as there might be a game that is head to head and will give us the fight to finish the game off strong."
Congratulations to our girls basketball team on this fantastic win.
The #4 Trojans are now set to start State Playoffs this Friday with a game against Chinle. It will be played just across town at Mountain Pointe High School.
Come out and support your Lady Trojans!
Ticket Link: https://gofan.co/event/1366555
