Page's fast-paced offense and non-stop defense prove too much for the Gophers.
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Number 2 seeded Lady Sand Devils advanced to the quarterfinals after easily defeating the Florence Gophers Friday night.
The Sand Devils achieved their victory with two of their seniors on the bench. Meagan Fuller was nursing a broken ring-finger on her right hand, and point-guard and pace-setter Myka Taliman was on the bench with some kind of bug.
Girls basketball head coach Ryan Whitehorse said he hopes both players will be ready to play by the championship game this Saturday.
Myka’s younger sister Miquedah, along with Mikala Benally, shared point guard duties Friday night.
On paper the Sand Devils were quite evenly matched with the Lady Gophers. The Gophers entered the game 24-6 overall, 12-0 in their section, while the Sand Devils entered the game 23-4 overall, 10-0 in their section.
Page controlled the game’s tempo from the opening tip. Defensively, the Sand Devils played a one-on-one full court press against the Gophers, something they have done all season with great results. It resulted in numerous turnovers by the Gophers, disrupted their rhythm and wore them out physically, which became obvious in the third quarter.
Offensively, the Sand Devils played a fast-paced, transition game, much of which grew out of steals and turnovers caused by their aggressive defense.
Camryn Nockideneh scored the game’s first points, which came off an assist from Miquedah Taliman. Amy Yellowman added three points, Torrance Begay contributed two and Nockideneh another four points, during which the Gophers offense added only four points. The Sand Devils didn’t trail at any point throughout the game.
Benally and Taliman combined for back-to-back three-pointers in the opening minutes of the second quarter, clearing the way for a 24-13 lead at halftime.
The Lady Sand Devils had a big third quarter, simply outrunning their opponents who looked tired, and played with heavy feet. They held the Gophers to just five points in the third quarter while the brisk and elusive Sand Devils offense scored 22. They led 46 to 20 at the end of the third quarter.
The exhausted Gophers posted an even more dismal fourth quarter, scoring just four points. The final score read Sand Devils 55, Gophers 24.
Nockideneh was the leading scorer with 15 points, followed by Taliman with nine, Yellowman with eight, and Begay and Neve Redhair with five points each.
The Lady Sand Devils advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played this Monday against the Tuba City Warriors who defeated Kingman 71-29 earlier Friday. Monday’s quarterfinals will be held at the Findlay Center in Prescott Valley. Tip-off will be at 4:15.
