PHOENIX
The Flagstaff girls basketball team has been knocking on the door for a few years now.
Last season the Lady Eagles played in the 4A title game, finishing as the reserve champions to Tucson private school Salpointe Catholic.
On Thursday night, No. 2 seed Flagstaff got over the hump with a 68-65 win over Tucson Pueblo High School at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, earning the school’s second state crown, with the first one coming in during the 1991-92 season.
“Obviously, when you win it with your first group, it’s always going to be special,” Flagstaff head coach Tyrone Johnson said. “We’ve come close in the past, but these girls are leaving a legacy for our program.
“They set a goal, and they put their stamp on this one,” he added.
Since taking over the program 17 years ago, Johnson has coached the Eagles to several semifinals, and last season they finally broke through.
And while that was a momentous occasion, Johnson felt that some of his kids did not have a great game in last year’s finals.
One of those players was senior guard Sage Begay, who hit 4-of-5 shots in the opening quarter, which included a pair of 3s.
“For her to come out the way she started, I think she was determined to make sure the results were different,” Johnson said. “She was big for us, and she’s been big for us all year.”
The four-year varsity starter was one of three Flagstaff players to finish in double figures, as she had 12 points, two assists, and two steals.
“This means a lot because we worked so hard for this,” Begay said. “It just means everything for us because it’s been a while since Flagstaff has won a state title.”
Behind a 4-of-5 effort in the opening quarter, Begay helped the Eagles to a 15-9 first-quarter lead.
In the next stanza, freshman forward Bella Burcar picked up the slack by scoring 10 of her team-best 19 points. Burcar hit a pair of treys, with her second one yielding Flagstaff a 34-27 halftime lead.
The Eagles got a 3-pointer from junior Jaydean Dugi to start the second half for its largest lead at 37-27, but the Pueblo Lady Warriors put together a 10-1 run to pull within 38-37 with 2:41 left in the quarter behind a pair of free throws from senior Victoria Cazares, who led all scorers with 27 points.
“We got up by 10, and then they came right back,” Johnson said. “They cut that lead down real quick, so we couldn’t get complacent because they were never out of the game.”
The Eagles closed the period by nailing three treys, two by Jazmine Dugi, for a 49-43 advantage heading into the fourth.
Flagstaff got another trey from junior Morning Honani to start the fourth, but Pueblo used a 9-0 run to tie the contest at 52-all with a three-pointer from freshman America Cazares, who finished with 18 points.
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Flagstaff junior guard Morning Honani (3) gets by Pueblo Lady Warrior America Cazares in the Arizona 4A state title game Thursday night in Phoenix. Honani finished with 15 points helping Flagstaff to a 68-65 win.
The Johnson-coached team scored six straight before Victoria Cazares cut that in half with a trey at the 3:15 mark.
At the other end, Honani hit the first of a 1-and-1 opportunity, and on the miss, the Eagles got the ensuing rebound with Jazmine Dugi nailing Flagstaff’s 10th and final trey with 2:54 left while leading 62-55.
Flagstaff made 10-of-35 from long range for the game, with Jazmine Dugi making three while Burcar and Begay added two apiece.
“With us playing together, we got some wide-open looks every time we moved the ball around,” Begay said. “With the ones we missed, we made sure to get back on ‘D’ because they’re really quick and shifty.”
The Warriors made one final push with America Cazares scoring a 3-pointer and two free throws drawing her team within 62-60 before Flagstaff outscored Pueblo 6-3 in the final two minutes, with Honani icing the game with a pair at the charity line.
“I actually wasn’t nervous,” said Honani, who finished with 15 points. “I was pretty confident with my shots, and I knew I could hit those free throws.”
Johnson was pleased with how his team stayed poised even though Pueblo made a run to tie the game in the fourth.
“We made a couple of shots down the stretch, and we made some free throws,” he said.
“We were really determined,” Burcar added. “I mean, we all wanted this so bad, and I’m just happy that we got this. I’m so super excited to be a part of this team.”
In the championship game, the Flagstaff team went eight deep, but Johnson said everyone on his bench contributed in their way.
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Flagstaff players Morning Honani and Jazmine Dugi share a laugh after the Lady Eagles defeated Pueblo High School, 68-65, in the Arizona 4A title game Thursday night.
“They’ve been big in a sense that every day in practice, they made it competitive,” Johnson said. “We wanted to have that competitive nature so that when we got into a situation like this, we wouldn’t freeze.
“The girls that didn’t get on the floor tonight knows they were big contributors to our success overall with our season,” he added.
Johnson also credited the five seniors on the squad – Sierra Manygoats, Shandiin Lancaster, Jasmynn Tsosie, Bridget Nichols, and Begay – for their leadership.
“I think this year they showed the girls the right way to play,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of selfish acts; we had a lot of kids playing team ball, playing together, trusting one another, so I think they really left that imprint on the team.
“Hopefully, we can follow that as we move forward,” he added.