Rams’ strong second half can’t stop powerhouse Seton Catholic

Although the outcome of Tuesday night’s Class 4A-II East Sky Region girls basketball game between host Maricopa and defending state champion Chandler Seton Catholic was essentially decided by halftime, the Rams found reason for encouragement during the final two quarters.

Seton Catholic remained undefeated in the region as well as in AIA power-point games by posting a 66-39 victory over the Rams. The Sentinels (23-3 overall, 16-0 in 4A-II power-point games, 12-0 East Sky Region) pulled away in the second quarter and led 47-13 at halftime, but Maricopa outscored them 26-19 in the second half.

“The first half they were playing not to lose,” Maricopa coach Jennifer Miller said about the Rams, who stand at 13-12 overall, 7-9 in power-point games and 5-8 in the East Sky Region.

“In the second half, they were playing to win. And it’s just attitude. They came out in the second half. They had nothing to lose. They had set their goal: ‘We’re going to play offense.’ They came out and they played offense. We spent most of the second half with girls who will be returning next season, and they outplayed them. So I guess every dark cloud has a silver lining.”

Junior forward Paige Ellis and sophomore forward Derona Mitchell led the Rams with 10 points each. Mitchell added five rebounds and three steals, while Ellis pulled down nine rebounds.

“Paige came up big this game,” Miller said about Ellis. “It’s exciting to know we’ll get her back next season. With her, it’s just confidence. When she finally realizes how good she is, there are going to be teams that have no idea what to do with her.”

Ellis scored six points during the third quarter, when Maricopa outscored Seton Catholic 16-6. She added two more on a putback early in the fourth to reduce the Rams’ deficit to 55-33.
Mitchell also scored eight points during the second half, tallying four in the third quarter and four in the fourth.

The Rams also got seven points in the game from Brianna Estrada and six from Paige Provost. Morgan Rainey finished with three points and seven rebounds for Maricopa, while Julia Dickerson added three points and five rebounds.

Seton Catholic was led by Kayla Bustos, who finished with 20 points and seven steals, and Theresa Wirth, who contributed 15 points and eight rebounds.

Maricopa will conclude the regular season with road games at Tempe (on Friday) and Apache Junction (on Feb. 8). The Rams will need to win both to have a chance to accumulate enough power points to finish among the top 16 in the rankings and qualify for the 4A-II state tournament.

“We think if we get our job done, we’ve got a pretty good shot,” Miller said.