The Winslow Lady Bulldogs defeated the Thatcher Lady Eagles 52-36 in the Arizona State Division III Championship Tournament at Gila River Arena last Thursday, then exited the tourney the following day after losing to the Page Lady Sand Devils, 52-48.
The Bulldogs started strong with a pressure defense that bothered Thatcher as Winslow scored the first seven points of the game. The Lady Eagles came back and tallied the next four points. Winslow rallied late in the quarter and led 14-7 going into the second period. Winslow held a 26-16 lead at the half.
Thatcher started strong in the third quarter and scored the first eight points to cut deeply into Winslow’s lead. The Bulldogs did not score until the third period was nearly half over. The first Winslow score of the second half was a four-point play by Shandiin Armao as she made a three-point shot and was fouled. Winslow finished the quarter strong and had a 38-29 lead going into the final period of play. The Lady Bulldogs continued to pull away to a 52-36 victory.
Armao led all scorers with 20 points for Winslow. Kaelyn Bitsoi was also in double figures for the Bulldogs and Jayce Sangster scored 8.
Danica Rowan led Thatcher with 10 points and Cammy Nicholas added 9.
In other games on Thursday, the Safford Lady Bulldogs defeated Pusch Ridge 47-37. The Page Lady Sand Devils defeated the Holbrook Lady Roadrunners 64-34 to reach the semifinals against Winslow. The Tuba City Lady Warriors upset the top seeded Valley Christian girls 46-38 to reach the semifinals against Safford.
The first quarter of Friday’s game was played on even terms, but Page hit a trey at the buzzer to take an 11-7 lead into the second period. The Sand Devils scored on the opening play of the second quarter to take their largest lead of the game. Winslow was down by a dozen points with five minutes left in the half and Page held a commanding 26-14 lead at the intermission.
Winslow cut into the Page margin in the third quarter, but still trailed 40-33 going into the final period. The Bulldogs quickly cut the lead to five points and got within three with five minutes left in the game. With just over a minute left to play, the Bulldogs trailed 49-48. Page hit two free throws to take a 51-48 lead with just seconds left in the game. The Sand Devils added two more free throws and walked off with a 52-48 win.
Armao led all scorers with 27 points for Winslow. Sangster and Bistro followed with 8 each.
Page was led by Arial Austin with 15 points and Ashley Dempsey with 13. Freshman Lelisa Watson scored 8 for the Lady Sand Devils.
Winslow wound up with a 28-5 record.
This was the fourth meeting between these fine teams this season. Page won the season opener at home, 44-33, and a tournament game at Chinle, 48-43. Winslow edged the Sand Devils 50-48 at home to give Page its only loss of the regular season.
Winslow will lose seven seniors to graduation, including Michaela Bia, Adrianna Tappto, Tomiko Clough, Ashleigh Johnson, Kaelyn Bitsoi, Erica Jodie and standout Shandiin Armao.
The win sent Page into the championship game on Saturday with a 34-1 record. The Sand Devils defeated Tuba City 54-42 to earn the state title.
