Fantastic Four carry the Lady Rams to a 65-59 win in round one

The Lady Rams (23-6, 10-2 in the 2A West) traveled to Peoria on Friday afternoon to take on the Redskins of St. Johns (17-13, 10-4 in the 2A North) in round one of the 2007 Arizona State Basketball Tournament.

As soon as the Lady Redskins of St. Johns walked into the gym for pre-game warm ups, the Lady Rams knew this was going to be a battle to the end. If this was to be a game solely based on height, the Lady Redskins were winners without a doubt.

The Lady Redskin roster had three girls standing over 6′ tall, and a total of five girls standing over 5’10”. The Lady Rams were vertically challenged, having one player who reached the height of 5’8″. The Lady Rams were out to prove that desire, heart, and hustle is what it takes to overcome size or the lack of it.

The Lady Rams got on the board first when Kayla Valisto grabbed the offensive rebound and dished to Jessica Schwanbeck in the lane for an easy two. The Lady Redskins answered back when Sian Burdick knocked down a jumper in the lane; then Megan Greer came up with steal, drove to the hoop and made the lay up. Greer was fouled on the play, putting her at the free throw line where she converted the old fashioned three-point play, giving the Lady Redskins a 5-2 lead.

Maricopa’s Kayla Valisto (#44) goes up for the put back against St. John’s during the Rams first game of the 2A State Tournament last night.

On the next possession do-it-all Lady Ram point guard Yvonne “Yo” Nuguid stopped and popped a three from the wing, knotting the game at 5.

Looking for a spark off the bench, Lady Ram Head Coach Jenn Miller looked to freshman guard Brittany Parks. Parks didn’t waste any time as she grabbed a defensive rebound, drove coast-to-coast and found Schwanbeck in the lane for an easy two. Next time down Lady Ram Sarah Scofield found Schwanbeck in the lane for an easy two off the window, giving the Lady Rams a 9-5 lead.

On the next Lady Ram possession Nuguid shook the defender and drove through the lane, throwing up a sweet, floating one hander for two. Next time down Nuguid followed her own miss with a nice put back in the lane, giving the Lady Rams 13-7 lead.

With time winding down in the first quarter Lady Ram Parks stole the ball, drove the distance and dished to Valisto in the lane for two off the glass, giving the Lady Rams a 15-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Lady Redskin Danica Patterson came off the screen to knock down a three from the wing; then next time down Patterson’s teammate Burdick converted a lay up. Clinging to a one-point lead, Lady Ram Parks pulled the trigger, knocking down a jumper from the wing and giving the Lady Rams a 17-14 lead.

Not only can Lady Ram Nuguid shoot the three and drive to hoop, but she can also find open teammates. Nuguid fired a cross court pass to Schwanbeck in the lane; Schwanbeck stopped on a dime in the lane and popped the short jumper, giving the Lady Rams a 19-16 lead.

Lady Ram Yvonne “Yo” Nuguid (#33) pulls up for a jump shot against St. Johns last night during round one of the 2A State Tournament.

Maricopa’s Danielle Heidema (#24) shoots a free throw last night against St. John’s in round one of the 2A State Tournament.

On the next possession the 5’5″ Nuguid with her back basketball nailed a sweet turn around jumper in the lane over the 6’1″ Breanne Rogers. Late in the second quarter the wind got knocked out of the Lady Rams’ sails when Jessica Schwanbeck went down with a knee injury.

With Schwanbeck on the bench icing her knee the Lady Redskins put two defenders on Nuguid, shadowing her every move with and without the ball. The move motivated Nuguid as she turned up the defensive intensity by stealing the ball and dishing to Danielle Heidema, who drained the jumper from the wing, giving the Lady Rams a 25-21 lead at the half.

Schwanbeck was back on the court to open up the third quarter. She made an immediate impact as she drained a jumper from the wing, giving the Lady Rams a 27-23 lead.

The Lady Rams put nice run together when Scofield bounced a pass to Valisto in lane for two off the glass; Schwanbeck drained an 18-footer; Parks converted one of two from the line;Valisto converted a pair from the line, and Parks drained a lay up in transition, giving the Lady Rams a 37-27 lead.

The Lady Redskins finally found the hoop when Patterson drained a three from the wing, but the Lady Rams answered right back when Valisto knocked down another bucket in the paint.

Lady Redskin Patterson converted back-to-back three point plays, but the Lady Redskins still trailed 44-46 at the end of the third.

Nuguid, off a Valisto screen, knocked down a baseline jumper to open up the fourth quarter. Nuguid came up with a steal and was fouled on the lay-in attempt, putting her at the free throw line where she converted both, giving the Lady Rams a 50-41 lead.

Out of the time out Nuguid drained a three-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Lady Rams a 53-44 lead. Lady Ram Parks came up with the steal and drove coast-to-coast for the lay up.

The Lady Redskins pulled even with the Lady Rams when Patterson and Latonia Begay each drained a three-pointer from the wing, knotting the game at 57-57 with 2:01 remaining in the game.

With the game knotted at 57 Lady Ram Nuguid stopped and popped a three from the top of the key, giving the Lady Rams a 60-57 lead. Nuguid fouled out of the game with 42 seconds remaining on the game clock.

With floor leader Nuguid on the bench somebody needed to step up, and freshman Brittany Parks did just that. Parks came up with a steal and dished to Valisto down low for two. Parks was fouled on the defensive end, stepped up to the free throw line and converted both from the line, sealing the victory for the Lady Rams. The Lady Rams went on to win by a score of 65-59.

The Lady Rams celebrate a well-deserved first round victory over St. John’s in the 2A State Tournament last night.

Lady Ram forward Kayla Valisto, who had 21 points, led the Ram scoring, followed by Yvonne “Yo” Nuguid with 19, Jessica Schwanbeck with 14, Brittany Parks with 9 and Danielle Heidema with 2.

The Lady Rams take on the Trojans of Valley Christian in round two today at 4:30 p.m. at Raymond S. Kellis High School located in Glendale. Click here for directions.

View the updated 2007 State of Arizona 1A-4A basketball bracket by clicking here.

Photos by Jeremy Knop