Sixteenth-seeded Snowflake didn’t play all that well in their opening round win over visiting 17th seeded Coolidge, but it was good enough to get the 44-34 home court win and advance to the second round on Friday night.
That first round win earned them a match up with top seeded Gilbert Christian. The Knights were unbeaten in regular season play and had just one loss overall. Snowflake struggled mightily to begin this season going 0-7 in their first seven games, but since that time they began to show improvement.
The Lobos won their last three games and used that momentum to upset the top seeded Knights 45-40 on Friday night. Gilbert Christian doesn’t play the same caliber of opponents each night that teams in the 3A east and north regions do, and that helped the Lobos upset the top team, 45-40.
With the upset, Snowflake will have faced a familiar team in the elite eight at Prescott on Monday afternoon. Alchesay is the defending 3A state champion and has once again positioned itself to make a return trip to the final four. The eighth seeded Falcons defeated No. 24 Wickenburg on Thursday night earning their trip to Prescott.
Snowflake has a decided height advantage, but the Falcons will try and make it a 94-foot game with their press. The two teams met prior to Christmas in what was an eight-point Alchesay win. Whichever team can get the game played in their style should prevail. If Snowflake wins, they would face either No. 13 Tuba City or No. 5 Window Rock in the semi-final round on Friday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The Lady Lobos headed into Monday’s game with a 16-12 overall record.
