After defeating the host Flagstaff High School Eagles, 48-43, early on Saturday morning, the Page High School Sand Devils fell to Valley Christian High School 72-62 in the final of the girls Pepsi Holiday Tournament at Flagstaff High School.
Trailing 59-50 following a Valley Christian 3-pointer, Page rallied to a 7-0 run to bring the game within two points. However, the Sand Devils could never quite get over the hump and failed to take the lead at any time in the second half on the way to a second-place finish.
“I thought at that time we got them now, and I probably should have pulled the press off,” said Page head coach Justin Smith. “It had worked two possessions in a row, but I thought about it after the game. I told them after the game, I probably should have pulled the press off.”
Page stayed even with Valley Christian through the first quarter, but fell back during a 20-12 second quarter. Senior Autumn Whitehorse and freshman Monique Fuller each earned all-tournament honors for helping lead Page to the tournament’s runner-up spot. Whitehorse scored nine in the tournament finale, but the Sand Devils were led by junior Ember Sloan, who scored 22 against the Trojans.
Earlier in the day, Page ended Flagstaff’s pursuit of a sweep between the boys and girls. After trailing for much of the game, the Sand Devils rallied late against the Eagles to pull out the victory.
“We were down nine points going into the fourth quarter and finally showed some urgency late and made a run at them,” Smith said.
Smith added that he appreciated the competition from the home team and enjoyed the opportunity to face a friend in Flagstaff head coach Tyrone Johnson.
“Coach Johnson and I are good friends, I like all the girls on their team and I like the way they play,” Smith said. “He coaches a lot like I do, it’s kind of like you are playing a mirror of yourself sometimes.”
For Johnson’s team, Saturday proved to be somewhat of a disappointment. After cruising through its first two games against San Tan Foothills and Cesar Chavez, Flagstaff led late against Page before slipping up and missing out on the tournament final.
“The first three quarters I thought we played solid and then that fourth quarter, Page stepped up their pressure and we just didn’t handle it well,” Johnson said. “In the end, we didn’t end up executing, turned the ball over and not hitting free throws while they made them.”
Following the loss, Flagstaff also dropped the third place game to Kingman High School.
“It takes a little bit of energy out of you as far as your enthusiasm because you’re hosting the tournament and you are looking forward to being able to represent your school in the championship,” Johnson said. “We knew we had a tough task ahead with Kingman. Unfortunately, we were on the short end of that too.”
Both the Sand Devils and the Eagles return to the court tomorrow. Page heads back to town to play at Coconino High School at 7 p.m. while Flagstaff heads south to face Barry Goldwater at 7 p.m.
Mesa 65, Northland Prep 18
It was a rough morning for the Northland Preparatory Academy Spartans (2-3) when they lost to the Mesa High School (4-4) Jackrabbits 65-18 in their final game of the Pepsi Holiday Tournament.
Without their point guard and leading scorer, Annie Netherton, the Spartans fought as hard as they could against the Division I school, but it was clear from the start that they were overmatched.
However, head coach Lorenzo Rodriguez was satisfied with the team’s overall performance, especially against a school of such a high caliber.
“I’m proud, we get better every time. They’re learning; when I bring them out, I ask them what they did wrong and they know,” Rodriguez said. “We never give up, no matter what the score is.”
The Jackrabbits immediately started out with a 2-2-1 full-court press, and the pressure lead the Spartans to giving up almost 40 turnovers. The majority of the game, the Spartans struggled to make it past halfcourt and set up their offense.
On the defensive end, Northland Prep attempted to stop Mesa’s relentless fast breaks and transition offense. While they allowed 33 points in the first quarter, they improved throughout as the Jackrabbits scoring slowed for the rest of the game.
One of the biggest challenges for the team was not having its key point guard. Filling the shoes of Netherton was her younger sister, freshman Megan Netherton, who was responsible for more than half of the team’s points.
“I think I did all right, it’s definitely a challenge without Annie,” Netherton said.
The Spartans finished the tournament with a 0-3 record, but turn around immediately for a game tomorrow as they host Williams High School at 5:30 p.m.
Girls Pepsi Holiday Tournament Wrap-up:
Coconino 50, Greyhills Academy 15
Coconino 55, Red Mesa 27- Consolation Championship Game
All-Tournament Team:
Coconino sophomore Marissa Copley
Boys Basketball
Up-tempo Tuba City rallied in the waning seconds Saturday to stop host Page in the NGS Holiday Classic.
The Warriors turned the third-place game into a 3-point shooting contest and took advantage of shaky Page ball handling. They had trailed 26-21 at halftime and 44-42 with 35 seconds left, but Tyler Johnson scored two critical baskets to put them in control. His reverse layup with 17 seconds gave the Warriors (8-1) a 46-44 lead, and the Tuba City defense locked it down.
Page (2-4) turned the ball over on two of its final three possessions. The last, the Sand Devils’ 20th turnover, came when Isaac Henry tried to drive through three defenders with six seconds to play, and one of them — Christian Begody — poked the ball loose. Tristin Begay was fouled and extended the lead to four points with 2.4 seconds left.
Page had opened a first-quarter lead of 14-6 and a 21-7 advantage midway through the second quarter behind a deliberate and well-executing offense. But the Warriors, who eliminated Page from the state Division III tournament in February in the first round, began dictating the pace and hoisting treys. They finished 8-of-21 from long distance, with Begody accounting for half of them (4-of-7) and 21 points.
Page guard Jamaal Thomas, who scored a career-high 29 points in the 55-53 loss to Tuba City Feb. 12, was contained and held to five points Saturday. Page was led by center Roger Sandall, with 13 and forward Michael Redbear, with 10.
The eight-team, 36th annual tournament was won by St. George (Utah) Pine View, 82-64 over Sunnyside (Tucson), behind 21 points from Garrett Bowker and 20 from tourney MVP Kody Wilstead. The consolation game went to Raymond S. Kellis (Glendale), 54-51 over Monument Valley (Kayenta) and the seventh-place game was won by Chinle, 75-31 over Apache Junction.
Page and Tuba City will meet again in two days. The Sand Devils are set to host the Warriors at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Boys Pepsi Holiday Tournament Wrap-up:
Winslow 57, Coconino 52
Durango 61, Northland Prep 47
All-Tournament Team:
Northland Prep Senior Chad Timberlake
Boys Soccer
Page went 0-5-1 in the boys soccer Mohave County Invitational in Lake Havasu City over the weekend.
The Sand Devils fell 8-0 to Verrado (Buckeye), 7-1 to Yuma Christian, 1-0 to Lake Havasu, 6-0 to Kingman and 8-1 to Mohave (Bullhead City). They tied River Valley (Mohave Valley), 2-2 on two goals from Daniel Blakely. Page also had goals from Cole Motko, against Yuma Christian and Xavier Ochoa, on a long drive from the center stripe against Mohave.
The matches were played Thursday through Saturday. The Sand Devils, 1-7-1 overall, will be idle until Jan. 7.
Todd Glasenapp and Alexa Vagnozzi contributed to this report.
