The Lady Lobos won the 3A Conference State title on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Coliseum with a 49-37 win over Payson in the title game.
The Lobos advanced to the title game with a 59-51 home court win over Monument Valley in the quarterfinal round, and a 60-44 win over Ganado in the semifinal round on Friday night.
With the traditional powerhouses from the 3A North no longer in the tournament, thanks in part to the new Copper Tournament format, and to a huge upset by Payson over top-seeded Chinle in the other semifinal game, the path to the title was clear for Head Coach Mike Brogan’s squad.
Payson gave a valiant effort but their huge fourth-quarter comeback the night before took its toll in the second half. Snowflake got solid play from Ryah Denhalter, Nicole Hipps and Bryn Kupfer, along with others in the title game.
This marks Snowflake’s sixth overall girls basketball state championship. The last time Snowflake won the 3A title was in the 96-97 season under head coach Don Godfrey when they defeated Monument Valley. They played for a title in the 20-21 season but finished as the runner-up.
Snowflake’s overall record this year was 30-5.
