YC girls soccer upset in 3A state semifinals

Cibola girls basketball loses by 68 points at Valley Vista; YC boys also fall

The No. 1 Yuma Catholic girls soccer team lost 1-0 to No. 5 Anthem Prep in the 3A state semifinals Wednesday night at Williams Field High School in Gilbert.

The loss was YC’s (13-1-1 AIA) first in AIA play since last season’s state championship game.

Anthem Prep’s Olivia Friedman scored from about 25 yards out early in the game to put her team up, and that was all that would be needed. YC coach Jesus Quintana added that his team didn’t give up many chances in the box, but there were a handful of looks from beyond 18 yards. The high-powered attack of the Shamrocks, who scored 103 goals in all competitions this season, could never get in sync.

According to Quintana, the Eagles would mark YC’s leading scorer, Ariana Leamons with two or three defenders at once. The constant pressure made things tough.

“The biggest thing is that we picked the wrong time to have a bad game,” Quintana said. “We had difficulty adjusting to the turf field. We didn’t control the ball as we usually do. The opportunities that we did have, we did not convert. We had several good opportunities that we normally would have converted.”

GIRLS BASKETBALL No. 6 Valley Vista 94, No. 11 Cibola 26

The Raiders (17-3 AIA) were led by Arlyssa Underwood (seven points and four assists) in the first round of the 6A State Tournament.

The loss of 68 points is the worst postseason loss in program history. The previous high was 35 points. Valley Vista (17-2) also beat the Raiders three weeks ago by 53.

BOYS BASKETBALL No. 15 Kingman Academy 74, No. 18 Yuma Catholic 58

The No. 18 Shamrocks (10-8 AIA) saw their season come to an end in the first round of the 3A State Playoffs on Wednesday at the No. 15 Kingman Academy (12-5 AIA).

YC was led by Randal Voutt and J.R. Henderson with 18 points each.

Kingman Academy’s Tyler Chinyere had 28 points.