The Lady Wildcats reached the final game of the state basketball tournament before their season came to a close on Saturday afternoon against top seeded Tempe Prep in the Division IV title game.

Joseph City reached the finals by virtue of a 39-36 win over Arizona Lutheran in the semifinal round on Friday night. In that contest Taylor Hill finished with 13 points to lead the Lady Cats with some clutch shoot-ing down the stretch. Joseph City trailed by one after the first, but held a three-point edge at the half. The Lady Cats maintained that lead through the third, then after trailing late in the game, came back to get the win.

Along with Hill’s 13, Searra Hansen added 11, Kristin Baldwin had 8, Madison Fields, 6, and Brooke Baldwin, 1.

The sixth seeded Lady Wildcats then met up with the top seed on Saturday afternoon. A low scoring first quarter left Joseph City trailing by one. The teams battled to an 18-18 halftime tie. Brooke Baldwin opened the third period with five straight points, giving the Lady Cats the early second half lead, but down the stretch the Lady Knights had too much height for Joseph City to overcome. Trailing by four points late in the game Joseph City was whistled for an intentional foul which helped Tempe Prep open up a six-point lead it never relinquished.

Hill again played well, scoring 14 points. Kristin Baldwin added 11, Brooke Baldwin, 6, Hansen, 5, and Madison Fields, 2.

The Lady Wildcats finished as the state runner-up in Division I, and have an amazing cast returning and should be a heavy favorite to win the title next year.

“I’m really proud of all the girls. They have improved a lot from last year. They really had a great season and had a great opportunity to win the championship,” said Coach John Bryant.

“We have a great team returning for next year. We have a great chance to improve our skills, athleticism and depth for next year. Hopefully, we will make another run for the title and win it!

“All the girls played really hard, but Taylor Hill was our standout player in the playoffs,” Coach Bryant concluded.