Pima’s Ashlynn Chlarson named tournament MVP
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – The Eastern Arizona College Lady Gila Monsters punched their ticket to the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament on Wednesday with an impressive 74-43 thrashing of the College of Southern Nevada in the NJCAA Region 1 Division 1 Championship at Guitteau Gymnasium.
EAC dominated the paint, and nobody more so than standout sophomore Ashlynn Chlarson of Pima, who was previously named to the ACCAC 1st Team-D1 and D1 All-Region 2nd Team
In her final home game at EAC, Chlarson dominated the Coyotes. She scored 30 points and 19 rebounds on 13-19 shooting and was named the tournament MVP.
“I feel like I’ve learned so much here,” Chlarson said. “I just gave it my ultimate in my last home game here. I’m proud of myself but couldn’t have done it without my coaches.”
While how far the Gila Monsters go in the National Tournament remains to be seen, basketball fans will be able to continue to watch Chlarson as she is expected to sign to play basketball at a Division 1 university.
The College of Southern Nevada Coyotes weren’t supposed to be in the championship game, but the No. 4 seed knocked off No. 1 seed Arizona Western at their house 76-75 in the semifinals. Southern Nevada shot 35 free throws in that win.
On Wednesday, the Coyotes looked for lightning to strike twice as they jumped out to an early 7-6 lead. That’s when Sarah Deng decided enough was enough and scored on back-to-back buckets to jumpstart a 10-0 run. By the end of the first, the Gila Monsters had doubled up the Coyotes 18-9, and the game was never within question afterward. Deng was previously recognized as the co-Defensive Player of the Year.
EAC found an effective strategy and stuck to it for the rest of the game. They played tough defense, limited Southern Nevada to one shot on offense and then quickly outlet the ball and run in transition. The Gila Monsters would then feed the ball into the post or swing it for an open look. The Gila Monsters outrebounded the Coyotes 51-25 (14-7 offensive rebounds), had more blocks (6 – Sarah Deng had 3), and fewer penalties with 17 fouls by the Coyotes and 11 by EAC, but Southern Nevada had fewer turnovers (11) than EAC (15).
Eanae Dagons, who was previously named to the ACCAC 1st Team-D1 and D1 All-Region 1st Team, narrowly missed a triple-double by filling up the stat sheet with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.
Stephany Goncalves was a problem for the Coyotes all night and scored in transition and on drives to the basket. Goncalves finished with 12 points on 4-8 shooting and had 7 assists and 4 rebounds.
Region 1 Player of the Year Saroiya Ajomale led Southern Nevada with 16 points but it took 7-20 shooting, including 0-4 from deep.
Selina Gutierrez finished with 10 points on 4-13 shooting, and Kayla Terry had 9 on 4-10 shooting for the Coyotes.
The Lady Gila Monsters punched their ticket to the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament with the win.
