ROUNDUP: Legacy defense stifles Bonanza in Sunset Region girls basketball playoffs

Just three minutes into Wednesday’s Sunset Region quarterfinal, Legacy was showing signs of nerves as it played its first playoff basketball game in school history.

In the next 10 minutes, the Longhorns settled down, and host Bonanza never recovered.

Legacy used a 17-4 run to erase a seven-point deficit and never looked back in downing the Bengals, 62-53.

With the win, Legacy (18-9) will meet Centennial, a 90-55 winner over Sierra Vista, in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Thursday at Palo Verde.
Bonanza, which had won eight of its last 10 games before Wednesday, ended the season at 24-5.

One of the biggest moves of the game came when Legacy coach Tiffany Richardson moved her team out of a zone defense late in the first quarter. The moved worked, as the Bengals duo of Christin Figgins and Shirley Pitts finshed a combined 10-for-41 from the field.

“We had to get out of the zone,” Richardson said. “We had a game plan that we worked on for three days, and once we went man-to-man, it worked.

“We got big plays from plenty of people, and this is a huge win for our program.”

Among those Richardson patted on the back included Aubriana Hayes, who was just moved up from the junior varsity. Hayes’ sole job was to contain Figgins, and Bonanza’s top outside shooter went 3-for-17.

“What a job by Hayes,” Richardson said. “We needed her play on the outside, and she did a great job.

“I really didn’t expect us to play as well as we did defensively, but the ladies wanted this game tonight.”

Bonanza made 4 of 18 shots in the first quarter, 4 of 14 attempts in the second and 2 of 20 shots in the third.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns were 11-for-25 from the field in the opening half and took a 23-19 lead at halftime.

In the third quarter, Legacy got inside dominance from Kindrea Poole, who scored eight of her 23 points in the period, and the Longhorns led  39-26 after three.

Bonanza pulled within 53-47 with 3:23 remaining, but free throws and two layups by Hayes down the stretch sealed the Longhorns’ victory.

Poole had 23 and 16 rebounds for Legacy. Kendra Irving added 14 points for the Longhorns.

Pitts led Bonanza with 26 points, but the Bengals finished 18-for-77 from the field.

Centennial 90, Sierra Vista 55 — At Centennial, Johnna Brown had 25 points and six assists, and Deanna Daniels tallied 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven steals as the Bulldogs ripped the Mountain Lions.

Alexis Byrd had 17 points and Shannon Brown added 15 for Centennial, which led 45-27 at halftime.

Teena Baxter had 14 points, Nicolette Grigsby 12 and Jeanette Jackson 11 for Sierra Vista.

Bishop Gorman 71, Cheyenne 31 — At Gorman, Dannielle Diamant had 22 points and 17 rebounds in the first three quarters as the Gaels pulled away from the Desert Shields.

Aaryn Ellenberg scored 14 points and Chelsie Pitt 12 for the Gaels.

Taryn Hicks led Cheyenne with 11 points.

Round Mountain 46, Lake Mead 32 — At Round Mountain, the third-seeded Knights advanced to face Pahranagat Valley in the Southern Region semifinals.

Beatty 50, Tonopah 33 — At Beatty, Autumn Spicer scored 18 points and Naomi Cruz 13 as the Hornets advanced to play top-seeded Lund in the semifinals.

Rancho 43, Canyon Springs 41 — At Rancho, Shayna Porter-Banks made two free throws with 14 seconds remaining to lift the Rams past the Pioneers in a make-up game that allowed Rancho to qualify for the Sunrise Region playoffs.

Porter-Banks and Anelli Torres each scored 11 points for the Rams.

Diamond Broadus had 11 points for Canyon Springs.