Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Thatcher’s Ashlynn Thompson drivers to the hoop against Duncan’s Karly Coats. All of the higher-ranked seeds were victorious on the opening day of the tournament on Saturday.
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – Day 1 of Eastern Arizona College’s 45th annual Girls Holiday Basketball Tournament is in the books and it was a record-setting day.
The No. 1 seed Pima Roughriders tied the record for the most points by a team with its 92-14 victory over Willcox and broke the record for largest victory.
Following is a breakdown of the first day of the tournament.
No. 3 Fort Thomas 58 No. 6 Safford 27
The Apaches came out blazing to a 16-4 lead after one quarter. Fort Thomas doubled up Safford in the second quarter, 18-9, and took a comfortable 34-13 halftime lead.
Jasmine Olivar had 13 of her game-high 15 in the first half. Other scorers for Fort Thomas included L.J. Rope with 14; Chasinee Stanley and Alleenna Gilbert each with 8; Hailey Hinton with 7, and McKeena Rogers and Kenia Mccabe with 2 points each.
Safford was led by Brynzee Hansen with 12 points; followed by Ashtyn Schuh with 4; Lexi Lucas with 3, and Ashlyn Schilling, Melana Gonzales, and Brianna Camarena all had 2 points each.
Fort Thomas will next play Thatcher on Dec. 20 at 4:30 p.m. Safford is in the consolation bracket and will next play Duncan on Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m.
No. 4 Morenci 48 No. 5 St. David 45
In the most competitive game of the day, the Morenci Wildcats held off a fourth-quarter surge by the St. David Tigers to move on in the winner’s bracket.
St. David led after one quarter, 15-13, as Mayla Trejo hit 10 of her 15 points in the opening quarter.
Morenci reversed that two-point edge for the half and was up 25-23 behind a strong first-half performance by Julianna Aguilar, who had 8 in the first half.
Morenci used a 15-9 edge in the third quarter to hold off St. David, who outscored the Wildcats 13-8 in the final quarter.
Zenaya Cortez led Morenci with 15; followed by Aguilar with 10; Devanie Medina with 7; Elena Leonard with 6; Mia Ontiveros with 4, and Delicia Roybal with 2.
Anissa Jacquez led St. David with a game-high 19 points; followed by Trejo with 15; Jasmine Pacheco with 7; Taylee Jacquez with 3, and Halee Deskins with 1.
Morenci will next play Pima on Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. St. David is in the consolation bracket and will next play Willcox on Dec. 20 at 10:30 a.m.
No. 2 Thatcher 47 No. 7 Duncan 11
Thatcher led start to finish and was up 17-1 after the first quarter behind balanced team scoring.
The Eagles’ full-court press defense caused numerous problems for the Wildkats, who had trouble getting it over half court.
The second quarter was much tighter, with Thatcher outscoring Duncan 7-6 as the Wildkats hit three field goals, much to the joy of their fans who erupted with each bucket.
The Eagles kept chugging in the second half behind 14 total points from Ashlyn Thompson and 10 points from Haley Nicholas. Other Eagles’ scorers included Olivia Lunt with 8; Jade Griffin with 6; Jaiden Davis with 4; Kellee O’Connell with 3, and Makenzie Sweet with 2.
Duncan was held to just one field goal in the third (a 3-pointer by Kiley McGrath, and failed to score in the fourth. The Wildkats were led by McGrath with 5; followed by Rachel Sumner with 3; Kaylee Kempton with 2, and Aubray Evans with 1.
Thatcher will next play Fort Thomas on Dec. 20 at 4:30 p.m. in what could be a very competitive game. Duncan is in the consolation bracket and will next play against Safford on Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m.
No. 1 Pima 92 No. 8 Willcox 14
In what could have been an even more lopsided score, the Pima Roughriders tied the record for most points in a game by any team in tournament history and set a new record for largest victory with its 78-point win.
Pima held Willcox scoreless in the first half and went into the break up 59-0. Duncan broke the ice just before halfway through the third quarter and finished with 7 points in both the third and fourth.
Pima was led by Aubrie Sherwood who had 25 points (21 in the first half); followed by Saydee Allred with 15; Jaci McClain with 14; Ella Wiltbank with 13; Ashlie Sherwood with 10; Ashlynn Chlarson with 6; Samantha Pippo with 5, and Maddie Gann and Addison Hoopes with 2 points each.
Pima will next play Morenci on Dec. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Willcox is in the consolation bracket and will next play St. David on Dec. 20 at 10:30 a.m.
