The Lady Wildcats continued with their winning ways last week and have now qualified for the inaugural 1A-3A Open tournament known as the Copper Tournament.
The Wildcats put a wrap on their regular season on Tuesday, with a 67-18 home-court romp over Williams. An 11-point lead at the end of the first moved to a 33-14 lead at the half. In the third, they blanked the Vikings while netting 23 of their own, putting the game out of reach.
As they have done all season, the Neill family continued their dominance. Audrey Neill finished with 23 points. April Neill added 11, and Amber Neill had 9. Gabby Jesmer added 8; McKenzie Jesmer, 6; Jaydiana Kinlicheenie, 4; Samantha Jesmer, 2; Kaci Palmer, 2; and Jackie Richards helped with 2.
With that win the Wildcats finished the regular season on a 16-game winning streak. They pushed that streak to 19 straight winning three games and the championship at the 1A Central Tournament played on Friday.
Top-seeded Joseph City took care of No. 8 Seligman 80-11. Then downed No. 4 Williams, 68-11, and defeated No. 2 seed Mogollon, 39-11 in the title game.
Joseph City finished as the top-ranked team in the 1A power rankings and they are the only 1A team to advance to the Copper tournament. After a season of beating up on 1A schools, they will now see how they match up with a very good 3A Show Low team in the Copper Bracket.
The Cougars are one of the better defensive teams in 3A and finished the regular season as the fourth-ranked 3A team. A Cougars team wanting to give their all will be a tough out for the Wildcats to upset. Joseph City even with a loss will still have a chance to win the 1A state title.
With the format of teams losing in the first two rounds of the Copper tournament and then returning to their respective state tournaments, the Wildcats or the Cougars will still have at least one more game to play depending on the results on Tuesday night, which is when the first round of the Copper tournament is held.
If Joseph City advances in the Copper tournament they will face either Snowflake or Monument Valley in the second round which will be played on Thursday at the site of the higher-seeded team.
If the Wildcats fall in either the first or second round of the Copper tournament, they will still be the No. 1 seed in the 1A state tournament and will host a first-round state game on Monday the 17th vs most likely Fredonia.
Joseph City is currently 26-4 on the season. Of their four losses, three are to 3A schools and one is to Flagstaff a 4A school.
