YC fights back, falls to Casteel

Shamrocks trailed by 28 points, closed the gap to 13

Kofa senior Michelle Fuentes entered Friday night’s game with a remarkable 27 goals in 12 total games.

In this matchup against Cibola, the Kings’ most important game of the season to date, Fuentes played the role of creator, garnering assists on two Karen Rivas goals in Kofa’s 2-1 victory at Irv Pallack Field to seal the 6A Southern-Yuma subregion.

The Kings (8-3 AIA, 4-0 6A Southern) needed a win or a draw to clinch the subregion, which now means they’ll travel to Tucson and play Rincon/University on Tuesday for the 6A Southern Championship. Though a Cibola (8-3, 2-2 6A Southern) win would have put the two teams at a tie for first, the Raiders would have been given the nod due to a superior conference record.

Despite a change in energy from the Raiders down the stretch — their first real threat to Kofa’s win

With 10 minutes remaining in Friday night’s game, it looked like the Yuma Catholic girls basketball team was headed for a blowout loss to Casteel.

And though the Shamrocks still went on to lose, the final score — 69-56, Casteel — turned out to be plenty more respectable than it appeared it’d be when the Colts led by 28 late in the third quarter.

“I’m proud of the kids for battling back and leaving it all on the court with these guys,” coach Bob McGalliard said. “Because that’s a good basketball team right there.”

Casteel (11-3 AIA, 5-1 region), ranked No. 9 in 3A and the second-place team in the tough Metro region, beat YC (8-5, 2-4) by just five points back on Jan. 2, but completely dominated the first 22 minutes of Friday night’s contest.

The Colts held the Shamrocks to just two made field goals in the second quarter while taking a 29-11 halftime advantage, then went on runs of 7-0 and 8-0 in the third quarter to build a 50-22 lead with 2:04 remaining in the period.

“I think that I overcoached to start the game,” McGalliard said. “We went away from our strength; I tried to not press and play a 1-2-2 zone on them, and it cost us a little bit. In the second half we talked about having some pride.”

A pair of Sydney Neumann 3-pointers sparked a 10-0 YC run to close the third quarter; Neumann, who finished with 12 points and did all of her scoring in the third quarter, knocked down four triples that period.

“She’s our senior, she’s a good shooter, that’s what she’s in the game for,” Mc-