By Richard Smith
Twitter: @rsmithYWV

Valley Vista's path back to a third 6A girls basketball state final in four years was very narrow.

The #1 seed trailed #4 Gilbert Perry 47-46 with 10 seconds left in its 6A semifinal Feb. 27. The Pumas had to throw the ball in and - with only four Monsoon fouls in the half - run most of the clock off before having to shoot a free throw.

To win Valley Vista had to:

• Steal the inbound pass or force a five-second violation since Perry was out of time outs.
•  Set up a drive to the basket since the home team's touch from outside evaporated in the second half.

Check and check.

With the five-second count nearing the Pumas threw in a high pass that Monsoon sophomore guard Jennah Isai tipped to junior guard Alanis Delgado. Coach Rachel Matakas called time out with 6.3 seconds left.

"I was surprised. We were very intense. We knew we ad to get that steal at that moment," Delgado said. "I really wanted just to get a five count. To get the ball was amazing."

Senior guard Sophie Martinez found junior forward Marisa Davis just inside the halfcourt line and she drove across the lane and tried to split two defenders and avoid contact.

Just before releasing the layup, Davis dipped her left shoulder away from junior guard Madison Conner. They collided but not head-on and the officials did not call a block or charge on the play.

Her shot fell in with two seconds left to secure the 48-47 victory and Valley Vista students mobbed their stars on their home court.

"I knew I had three or four fouls. I knew I had to make a specific move to not get a charge. And I was able to split the D," Davis said. "It was like I was back in my backyard. I was super elated. It was so exciting."

Matakas said the end result was very close to what she drew up.

"What happened was, Marisa was on this side and I told them to switch because Marisa was supposed to be at the other spot. When they did, they other player cheated over. Once Marisa had it she had to go quick," Matakas said. "All night, they played very good defense on Marisa and Jennah, and the rest of our team showed up."

Now Valley Vista (26-3) faces its toughest test yet in order to win a third 6A title in four years. Defending champ and #3 Chandler Hamilton (23-6) awaits after tearing apart #2 Pinnacle 70-50 in Phoenix Feb. 26.

Hamilton and Valley Vista have an even split of the last four 6A trophies, yet have never met head-to-head for the title. That changes at 6 p.m. March 3 when the powerhouses tip the state final at ASU's Desert Financial Arena.

"We need to clean up details. There's things we definitely need to work on. Perry exposed some things, which is good. We're going to go back, watch this film and get better," Matakas said.

Valley Vista won the regular season meeting 60-57 on Jan. 16 in Chandler. But as Hamilton's district rival showed Wednesday, it is not wise to read too much into early results.

Valley Vista defeated Perry in a 46-35 game during the Nike Tournament of Champions without Isai. But the visitors were in the rematch from the start.

Perry took a 9-4 lead but Valley Vista scored the last eight points of the first quarter. Delgado sank four free throws.

With the defense sagging to help on the penetration of Davis and Isai, Delgado spotted up. She hit a pair of three-point shots in the second to stretch her team's lead to 32-23 at the break.

"We worked too hard to go home," Delgado said. "My teammates having that trust in me felt great and I'm happy I was able to knock those shots down."

While the Pumas strategy on Isai and Davis paid dividends, Delgado (10 points, 2 assists) and sophomore forward Saniyah Neverson (8 points) filled the void in the first half.

Meanwhile the home team had simal success against Conner, holding the Perry star to five in each half.

"We had the boys come in and they have similar speed and ballhandling skills as Madison. So we knew if we could slow them down, we could hold her down some," Davis said.

Perry junior guard Nicole Smith was in many ways Delgado's opposite number. She connected on four treys to tie junior forward Shayla O'Neil for the team scoring lead with 12 points.

The Monsoon appeared to be pulling away late in the third. Sophomore wing Mikela Cooper - also benefitting from the attention paid to Davis and Isai - scored to bump their lead to 40-31.

"They didn't think I could do much," Cooper said.

But Smith ended the third quarter with her third trey and began the fourth with her fourth. The Valley Vista lead shrank to 40-37, and it would remain a one-possession game the rest of the night.

Davis' two free throws built a 42-39 lead, but Conner answered with a game-tying three at the 5:27 mark.

Neither team scored for almost two full minutes. Delgado broke the deadlock, scooping in a layup for her team-leading 12th point.

"All her experience showed up tonight. And she played a heck of a game," Matakas said. "But I'm going to tell you Mikela Cooper is my player of the game. How many balls did she save, or keep alive for other girls to get? She never stopped. Those two never stopped."

Conner scored to tie at 44 with 2:03 remaining. On its next trip Valley Vista grabbed six offensive rebounds, including one after two free throw misses.

They did not get a point, but the sequence led by Davis and Cooper was crucial. Davis ended the night with nine boards while Cooper had six in fewer minutes.

"As long as we win together, that's fine," Cooper said.

That win became unlikely since the Pumas regained their shooting touch. Junior guard Tatyanna Clayburne swished the Pumas' sixth and final three-pointer of the second half for a 47-44 lead with 44 seconds left.

Isai then hit two free throws to draw close. Then the Pumas bled 15 seconds off the clock before calling their final time out.

Then the Monsoon owned the end of the game and took a major step toward reclaiming the throne.

"We have to win this. We promised everyone that we would bring back our trophy," said Davis, the only starter remaining from the 2018 title team.

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps
@rsmithYWV

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.