Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Herald: Saydee Allred scored a game-high 14 as the Pima Roughriders defeated the Safford Bulldogs 62-13 on Thursday night.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – The juggernaut that is the Pima girls basketball team continued its quest for a repeat 2A State Championship Thursday night with a 62-13 win over the visiting Safford Bulldogs.
While the score was lopsided, Safford showed marked improvement from its first home game of the season, also covered by the Gila Herald.
Pima (2-0 conference, 9-1 overall) held Safford (1-0 region, 4-4 overall) to just 7 points in the first half and only 6 in the second, including just a single lone field goal in both the second and third quarters.
But it was Safford who first came out with the defensive pressure, holding the speedy Roughriders scoreless for the first three minutes of the game.
Samantha Pippo finally broke the ice for the Roughriders, who then pulled out to a 7-0 lead. Safford fought back with an and-one play by Brianna Camarena to cut it to 7-3. After a 3-pointer by Saydee Allred, Ashtyn Schuh hit just before the end of the quarter to bring it to 10-5 Pima, but that’s as close as the Bulldogs would get the rest of the way.
Pima opened up the second quarter with a pressing defense that led to numerous fast-break layups.
“We started slow, but I went to my 1-3-1 zone defense and that got us going with the traps and we got some fast breaks,” said Pima head coach Roy Corona. “That’s when we started playing.”
Indeed, Pima held Safford to 2 points in the quarter and finished with 24 for themselves.
The inside game led to open shots on the perimeter, and Pima took advantage in the second quarter, hitting five 3-pointers to push its lead to 34-7 at the half. Saydee Allred hit two of her four 3-pointers in the quarter and led the Roughriders with 14 points. Right behind her was the ever-steady Ashlynn Chlarson with 13; Ashlie Sherwood had 10; Aubrie Sherwood had 9; Jayci McClain and Ella Wiltbank both had 5 each; Samantha Pippo had 4, and Kyli Mattice had 2.
“Our defense really worked hard tonight and that’s what really won us the game,” Aubrie Sherwood said. “We got off to a slow start, but we got some fast breaks got to do what we usually do.”
Safford was led by Camarena with 6; Brynzee Hansen had 4; Gracie Sterns had 2, and Ashtyn Schuh had 1.
After a third-quarter in which Safford only had one field goal, Pima was up 53-9 and had its 8th mercy-ruled running clock in the fourth quarter out of 10 games this season.
“It’s hard because I don’t get those girls in – those starters in – the whole fourth quarter,” Corona said. “But when we get to state, are we going to be used to it? Are we going to panic? I don’t know.”
Click here to view the Gila Herald’s Photo Album of the game.
The Roughriders and Bulldogs will next play in the 45th annual Eastern Arizona College Christmas Tournament on Dec. 18-21. Pima will have its first game of the tournament against Willcox on Dec. 18, starting at 8 p.m., and Safford will have its first game against Fort Thomas on Dec. 18, starting at 1 p.m.
After coming in as Runners-Up in the Pepsi Holiday Tournament to host team Flagstaff, Aubrie and the Roughriders are hoping to leave EAC with the championship.
“I’m really excited to play teams around here,” she said. “I’m really excited for this season. I think we’ll go far. We have a really strong team.”
In other local hoops action:
The Thatcher Eagles (2-1) came back against the Window Rock Fighting Scouts to force overtime and then prevailed 44-37.
Thatcher will next play in the EAC Christmas Tournament, starting on Dec. 18 against the Duncan Wildkats, starting at 6:30 p.m.
