Photo: 10 Bella Abt with a drive to the basket against 23 Ella Lafountain
The Prescott Lady Badgers made it look easy with a 63-40 win over the Eastmark Lady Firebirds in the Division 4A playoff quarterfinals.
Prescott fell behind briefly, but scored the next 9 to lead 9-2 over the #8 Firebirds. The two teams played it pretty evenly for the rest of the quarter with the Lady Badgers on top 14-8 after one quarter.
Photo: 20 Kylee Murdock shoots over 24 Kaitylnn Barnett
Eastmark was held to just 4 points in the second quarter as the tenacious Prescott defense created more and more opportunities to score as the Lady Badgers increased their lead to 22. Addie Prisciandaro knocked down 5 three point shots and finished with a game high 25. Once again Bella Abt did a tremendous job inside by scoring 15 points and her fare share of rebounds. Kylee Murdock and Bentlee Crockett each scored 6 points and also made it tough inside for the Lady Firebirds offense, which was a key to the Lady Badgers 34-12 lead at the half by holding Eastmark’s leading scorer Ella Lafountain to just 4 points. She would finish with 16 but the Lady Firebirds never got any closer than 17 the entire second half.
Photo: 3 Lilly James with a shot over 24 Kaitlynn Barnett
The Eastmark coach only elected to play six players so as the game progressed fatigue began to be a factor. One last attempted comeback by the Lady Firebirds early midway through the fourth quarter was thwarted as Lilly James kept the lead comfortable in the second half with a pair of three pointers. James said, “We had a lot of fun tonight. We shared the ball today and our defense was really good, we helped each other out.” About going to the semifinals, “It is the first time. I’m really excited and kinda nervous but really happy to be there.”
“I’m am just so happy for these girls because they work so hard,” said coach Jami Johnson. “It is not just about this season but it’s about the years that these girls have put into this program and how far they have gone. They deserve this, every bit of it.”
The Lady Badgers will face #6 Mesquite, who upset #3 Mica Mountain on the road. The game on Tuesday will be the final home game for Prescott, and with a win will send the Lady Badgers to the championship game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.
The Lady Wildcats, winners of the Desert Sky Region, have won two straight after falling to Higley in the Open Division. Prior to that loss Mesquite had won 10 straight. Of the five common opponents this season, the only school either team has lost to is #1 Salpointe Catholic.
PRESCOTT LADY BADGERS 63, EASTMARK LADY FIREBIRDS 40
EASTMARK (40)-Clarkin 0 0-0 0, Hanson 5 0-0 10, Denman 0 0-0 0, Lafountain 4 6-6 16, Barnett 5 4-6 14, Elzinga 0 0-0 0. 14 10-12 40.
PRESCOTT (63)-Prisciandaro 10 0-0 25, James 2 0-0 6, Abt 5 2-5 15, Jones 1 0-0 2, Crockett 3 0-2 6, Murdock 3 2-4 8, Young 0 0-0 0, Roskopf 0 0-0 0, Islas 1 0-0 2, Hirasa 0 0-0 0, Martinez 1 0-0 2. 26 4-11 63.
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Eastmark 8 4 16 12 – 40
Prescott 14 20 15 14 – 63
Fouled Out-None
Total Fouls-E 7, P 11
Three Pointers-E (2) LaFountain 2. P (7)-Prisciandaro 5, James 2.
4A DIVISION SCOREBOARD-Quarterfinal Round
Prescott 63, Eastmark 40
Paradise Honors 56, Flagstaff 31
Salpointe Catholic 63, Cactus Shadows 42
Mesquite 53, Mica Mountain 42
SEMIFINALS SCHEDULE-Tuesday, 7pm
#6 Mesquite (20-9) at #2 Prescott (27-4)
#4 Paradise Honors (24-6) at #1 Salpointe Catholic (28-4)
1 thought on “Prescott Into Semifinals After Win over Eastmark”
Local history is being made. These girls play hard and more importantly as a TEAM
Yes, there are two talented stars but the rest of the team make all D and O possible.
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