Shamrocks finish season with pair of wins
Yuma Catholic wrestling ended its season on a high note on Wednesday, taking down Snowflake and Combs in their final regular season meet.
The Shamrocks first took down Snowflake 6118, before betting Combs 70-12. The two wins finalize the Rocks overall regular season record in duals at 38-6. 11 wrestlers on Wednesday went 2-0, while four finished with two pinfalls each: Khel Lipumano (113), Hunter Hancock (150), Tayt Ford (175) and Max Mcvicker (285).
“With everyone healthy, which is a postitive, we have to qualify as many guys as we can to compete for a state title,” head coach Jeff Welsing said. “We’ve only lost one dual since the second week of
December. We’ve wrestled a really competitive schedule, which hopefully will set us up for state.”
Sectionals begin next Saturday, Feb. 11, in Wickenburg.
GIRLS BASKETBALL Shamrocks falter, suffer second loss
Yuma Catholic girls basketball struggled mightily on the road against Imperial (Imperial, Calif.) on Wednesday, losing 59-31 in their first loss since Jan. 7, suffered at the hands of
No. 1 team in 3A, Gilbert Christian.
The Shamrocks fell behind 24-12 in the first quarter and proceeded to score seven points in the second and six in each of the final two quarters. Senior guard Reese Sellers scored 11 points with four steals. Senior forward Rian Martinez added six points and eight rebounds.
Yuma Catholic looks to bounce back on Friday against Kingman, a team it beat by 40 earlier in the season.
Criminals end season on a high note
Yuma High girls basketball finished its season with a 26-point win at Shadow Mountain on Wednesday night, taking down the Matadors 53-27.
Senior Alyssa Franco went wild on the Matadors, scoring 14 points, while swiping an eye-popping 15 steals and nine rebounds. Sophomore Sylvia Gradias added 10 points
wasn’t in for another repeat performance of the one-possession win on Wednesday night though, taking down the Matadors 88-75 in its season finale.
“Tonight was a fun one,” Yuma head coach Curt Weber said. “We learned a lot this season and tonight we did our best to put those lessons together. We set a good tone in the second half that allowed us to ride our momentum to the win.”
Through the first two quarters, the lead changed back and forth four times between the two sides, trading blows up and down the court. The Criminals, a team much more suited to a fast paced style of play, struggled to find production in half-court sets, yet still managed to stay out in front by halftime due to strong defense and heads-up plays.
Entering the third quarter leading by six, the Matadors made a slight push to close the Yuma lead to two, but then made the costly mistake of trying to outrun the Criminals, which backfired.
Halfway through the third, Yuma went on a 16-5 run with blazing speed. Junior guard Estevan Moreno hit two three-pointers over the span of five possessions, all of which resulted in buckets for the Criminals.
“If teams want to play racehorse, they can. I’m always telling the guys to play faster,” Weber noted. “Overall this season we haven’t been very good in the third quarter, so setting that good tone for the second half helped us close it out down the stretch.”
The lighting pace of play paired well with Yuma’s strengths. In the first and second quarters, the Criminals scored 15 and 14, respectively. Running the floor in the third and fourth, they doubled their totals, scoring 29 and 30. The 88 points put up by the Criminals resulted in a season-high for single-game scoring. Not only was it the most the Crims have scored all season, it was 10 points clear of their second-highest mark, a 7838 win over 3-12 San Luis.
“Looking up at the scoreboard, I had to pinch myself,” Weber laughed. “Seeing 59 points in the second half just blew me away. (Shadow Mountain) wanted to run with us and they just kept going. That was fine with me, we were in better shape.”
Playing a seven-man rotation for all but the final minutes, all five of Yuma’s starters finished in double-digits. Moreno led the way with 23, including four three-pointers. Sophomore guard Nick Amador matched his mark of 23, with sophomore big Andrew Mosqueda behind him with 17 points. Junior guard Max Pacheco scored 10, while fan and team favorite, the only senior on the young roster celebrating his senior day, wing Dennis Rolland, had 10.
Rolland’s celebration included signs and banners around the gym rooting him on in his final game in navy and white, with his 10 points providing a series of feel-good moments that the entire gymnasium could get behind. After the game, Rolland took photos with his teammates, including one where he was held horizontally in the air, smiling ear to ear.
“It’s fun because he’s a team favorite,” Weber said. “He’s had his moments this season, but I’m happy he went out with the way he played.”
With a final record of 5-12, it wasn’t the season the Criminals wanted, but it was a fun ending for them. With a surplus of talent returning and potential improvements in the offseason, a lot can change for the good with this Yuma High squad in the winter of 2023-24.