Photo: 1 Zoe Libis led the Lady Badgers with 13 points
Varsity Girls Basketball
The Coconino Panthers put together a strong defensive second half to beat the Prescott Lady Badgers 44-30 in the Badger Dome. The Lady Badgers fell behind but came back from a seven point first quarter deficit to tie the game at 17 on a Zoe Libis three pointer with 5:33 left in the first half.
The Panthers took a timeout and reestablished their offense by opening up the paint for some easy drives to the basket to go back on top. Prescott kept it close on baskets by Rylee Hobson and Rylee King to trail 23-21. Coconino got a late three from the corner by Kaelin Lee to lead 26-21 at the half.
Photo: 10 Bella Abt looks for a shot over two Coconino defenders
The second half was an entirely different story, as the Lady Badgers struggled to get baskets, eventually scoring only nine points in the final 16 minutes of play. Coconino did a tremendous job on the boards to give Prescott many one shot trips, while slowly extending their lead to 36-26 after three quarters. Coconino had their moments of struggles too in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Badgers still couldn’t muster up some baskets.
Prescott falls to (2-6) in the GCR, and (7-12) overall, with a tough rivalry game tonight at Bradshaw Mountain. Game time is 5:30 pm.
COCONINO PANTHERS 44, PRESCOTT LADY BADGERS 30
COCONINO (44)-Lee 2 2-4 7, Laughter 5 1-2 12, Newsom 1 2-2 4, Ben 1 0-0 3, Sharfenberger 3 0-0 6, Tessmer 3 0-0 6, McCabe 2 0-0 4, Gencorelle 0 0-0 0, Ashley 1 0-0 2, Billy 0 0-0 0. 18 5-8 44
PRESCOTT (30)-Z. Libis 5 0-0 13, R. Libis 1 0-0 3, Abt 2 1-3 5, Hobson 1 1-2 3, Cunningham 0 2-4 2, King 2 0-0 4, Little 0 0-0 0, Naylor 0 0-0 0, Reinert 0 0-0 0. 11 4-9 30
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 – T
Coconino 14 12 10 8 – 44
Prescott 7 14 5 4 – 30
Total Fouls-C 6, P 10
Fouled Out-None
Three Pointers-C (3)-Lee 1, Laughter 1, Ben 1. P(4)-Z. Libis 3, R. Libis 1
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
Flagstaff 7-0 13-5
Coconino 6-1 12-6
Lee Williams 4-2 18-4
Bradshaw Mountain 4-3 12-12
Mingus 3-6 8-10
PRESCOTT 2-6 7-12
Mohave 0-9 4-16
Scoreboard
Coconino 44, PRESCOTT 30
Flagstaff 65, Mohave 17
Lee Williams 54, Mingus 42
Varsity Boys Basketball
The Prescott Badgers needed overtime to knock off a scrappy Coconino Panther team 80-78. It was the first win for Prescott at Coconino since December 16, 2013, when the Badgers won 60-48, snapping an eight game losing streak in Pantherville.
Prescott won the first meeting this season 74-44 in a ho hum, this game was over early, contest. Something you rarely when these two teams meet on the court. “Going in we knew this was not going to be the same team we saw here a couple weeks ago. We even had a player to deal with that did not play against us in the first meeting.” said Badger Coach Travis Stedman. “Coconino is always a very tough place to play, the atmosphere is intense, and you better come ready to play, or you’ll get beat. We all knew our next game does not matter if we don’t win tonight,” added Stedman in regards with the region title battle with Bradshaw Mountain.
The Badgers took an early lead, bouncing back and forth from one to six points, growing to a 27-21 with 5:37 left in the second quarter. Prescott would maintain the lead, with a 38-30 halftime advantage.
The lead would grow to 44-30, but the Panthers would fight to close the gap to 44-36. Something else came about during the Coconino comeback. A fourth foul called on Uriah Tenette midway through the third quarter, posed its own set of problems for the Badgers. “I had to sit him for a bit, but knew I couldn’t keep him out for long,” said Stedman.
Prescott would get stuck on 48, allowing Coconino to get back into the game, going on a 9-0 run to tie the game. The Badgers would score the next five points, and lead 53-50 after three quarters. Meanwhile a fourth foul called on Uriah Tenette midway through the third quarter, posed its own set of problems for the Badgers.
The game would stay close for the final eight minutes and Coconino was able to tie the game at 67, then take a 70-67 lead with just 1:18 remaining. Jake Hilton dropped a three pointer and just like that it was a tied game again. Trailing 72-70, the Badgers were able to tie the game with five seconds left when Cooper Magnett was fouled, and calmly sank both free throws to send it into overtime.
Like the first 32 minutes, overtime was equally intense. Prescott jumped up 77-72 on a pair of baskets, one by Uriah Tenette, and a three pointer by Magnett. Once again Coconino came back to take a 78-77 lead on a 6-0 run with :22 on the clock. The Badgers worked the ball inside to Zane Gaul who made the short range basket inside for a 79-78 lead. The Panthers quick shot attempt failed, and Tenette was fouled. Tenette converted only one of two, leaving the door open, but the Panthers final shot rimmed out giving the Badgers a hard fought 80-78 victory.
Uriah Tenette, who played a quarter plus overtime with four fouls, had 28 points and seven assists. Jake Hilton scored 16, and Zane Gaul worked hard inside with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks. Ivory Washington led the Panthers with 22 before fouling out. Prescott won the all important battle at the free throw line 14-7, while Coconino edged out the Badgers in three pointers 7-6.
There will be no down time as the Badgers, as they will host Bradshaw Mountain tonight at 7 pm in the Badger Dome. The Bears are sitting at number three, while the Badgers are at 10 in the 4A state rankings. A Bradshaw Mountain win will get them the Grand Canyon Region championship, and a Badger win will give the two teams a shared title. That is, if both teams win out the rest of the regular season games.
PRESCOTT BADGERS 80, COCONINO PANTHERS 78, OT
COCONINO (78)-Washington 8 2-3 19, Fox 2 0-0 6, Ragan 4 0-0 8, Carden 2 0-4 4, James 9 1-1 22, Begay 1 0-0 3, Clouse 0 0-0 0, Henry 0 0-0 0, Chukwijgha 6 2-5 14, Watson 0 2-2 2. 32 7-15 78.
PRESCOTT (80)-Magnett 5 2-3 13, Tenette 9 8-9 28, Bassett 2 0-0 5, Hilton 5 2-2 14, Gaul 7 2-5 16 , Buettner 1 0-0 2, Lyon 0 0-0 0, Bernardo 1 0-0 2, Smith 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Dutson 0 0-0 0. 30 14-19 80
Score by Quarters- 1 2 3 4 OT – T
Prescott 17 21 15 19 8 – 80
Coconino 19 11 20 22 6 – 78
Total Fouls-C17, P 20
Fouled Out-Washington
Three Pointers-C (7)-James 3, Fox 2, Washington 1, Begay 1. P6)-Tenette 2, Hilton 2, Bassett 1, Magnett 1
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
Bradshaw Mountain 8-0 19-2
PRESCOTT 7-1 15-2
Coconino 4-3 8-11
Mingus 3-6 9-13
Mohave 2-6 6-12
Lee Williams 1-5 10-9
Flagstaff 1-5 4-16
Scoreboard
PRESCOTT 80, Coconino 78, OT
Mingus 59, Lee Williams 51
St. Mary’s 62, Mesquite 50
Peoria 68, Cactus 46
ALA-Gilbert North 58, ALA-Queen Creek 44
Pueblo 39, Canyon Del Oro 37
Deer Valley 67, Estrella Foothills 53
4A BOYS BASKETBALL AIA RANKINGS (W-L)
#1 ALA-Gilbert North 21-1
#2 Peoria 18-3
#3 Bradshaw Mountain 19-2
#4 St. Mary’s 10-11
#5 Sahuaro 17-4
#6 Mesquite 17-6
#7 Pueblo 17-6
#8 Cactus 17-3
#9 Deer Valley 15-5
#10 PRESCOTT 14-2
Varsity Girls Soccer
The Badgers got three second half goals, one each by Macy Vanwormer, Delaney Courtney and Deanna Aguilar, to beat the Bradshaw Mountain Bears 3-0 in Prescott Valley. Prescott, ranked #3, will host #4 Lee Williams today at 5 pm.
GRAND CANYON REGION STANDINGS
School- W-L W-L
PRESCOTT 2-0 7-0
Lee Williams 2-0 8-0
Mohave 2-0 8-0
Flagstaff 1-1 10-2
Coconino 1-1 7-4
Bradshaw Mountain 0-2 2-7
Mingus 0-4 3-7
Scoreboard
PRESCOTT 3, Bradshaw Mountain 0
Flagstaff 6, Mingus 0
Walden Grove 11, Rio Rico 0
4A GIRLS SOCCER RANKINGS (W-L)
#1 Walden Grove 7-0
#2 Sahuarita 7-1
#3 PRESCOTT 6-0
#4 Lee Williams 8-0
#5 Salpointe Catholic 4-1-1
#6 Flagstaff 6-1
#7 Mohave 8-0
#8 Sahuaro 7-2
#9 Seton Catholic Prep 5-3
#10 Saguaro 5-2-1
