Salpointe Catholic beats Mesquite to win 4A title
Tucson Salpointe Catholic could have wilted. All season, the Lancers were one of the best teams in the state, one of the most talented teams in the state, one of the most proven teams in the state. They had aspirations of a deep Open Division run. Then, in the round of 16, they were stunned by No. 14 seed Surprise Valley Vista.
But instead of folding, the Lancers responded. They went on a dominant run through the 4A bracket, culminating Thursday night at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, where they won the girls 4A state basketball championship.
“We accepted it,” junior Taliyah Henderson said. “We had that next play mentality, went back to (4A) knowing that we were gonna win this gold ball.”
The narrow final score — a 59-49 win over No. 2 seed Gilbert Mesquite — belied the full extent of Salpointe Catholic’s dominance.
The Lancers led 17-10 after a quarter and 33-16 at the half. Each time Mesquite threatened a run, Salpointe Catholic responded with a show of its superior talent.
There was the moment midway through the first quarter, when junior Sidney Anderson hit a long step-back two then sprinted down to the other end to swat the ball from Mesquite’s Lucy Fisher at the rim. There was the moment later in that quarter when Henderson responded to a brief Mesquite run with a dagger three. There was the moment to end that quarter when Anderson banked in a three at the buzzer.
It wasn’t just the first quarter, either. All night, Henderson and Anderson conjured up big shots and big defensive stops when Salpointe Catholic needed them most. Henderson finished with 18 point and Anderson 16, followed by Jordan Watts with 10.
“It's fun,” coach Joseph Luevano said of his team’s talent. “Makes my job easy. And allows us to be creative.”
On the Mesquite side, junior Navae Guidry led the way with 18 points, followed by 15 from junior Kahlia Gonzales. Together, they helped trim the deficit to 11 after three quarters and all the way to six with under a minute to play, when
Gonzales got a desperation heave to go off the glass.
After Salpointe Catholic’s Allison Even went 1 for 2 on a trip to the line, Mesquite had a chance to cut its deficit to four.
But Rebekah Udall’s 3-point attempt from the top of the arc was blocked, effectively ending any glimmer of hope for the Wildcats.
With that, Salpointe Catholic had its second 4A title in three years.
“It's amazing,” Henderson said. “It feels awesome that all this hard work has paid off.”
To Luevano, it was a reflection not just of his team but of his city.
“I don't think people in Phoenix understand how difficult it is to play in Tucson and to constantly travel to play in Phoenix,” Luevano said. “Historically, there's not a lot of teams that go from Phoenix to Tucson, but the good teams go from Tucson to Phoenix regularly. And that's a difficult thing 'cause you have to compete in Phoenix if you want to win championships. You have to.”
All season, Salpointe Catholic made that journey, travelling up to the Valley to play the state’s best teams. And on Thursday, they were rewarded with a championship.