Catalina Foothills beat Cholla 56-25 Friday night in a game fueled by basic motivation. The Falcons came in wondering why some considered them to be the underdog and the Chargers came in wondering where they really stood after an impressive 2-0 start. Some questions were answered.
Domination is winning a state championship 13 out of the last 17 years. Even better, the four “off” years for the girls of Catalina Foothills since 2000 included a third-place finish and three runner-up trophies. But, when you are used to being the last team standing, a runner-up finish is hard to accept.
Catalina Foothills scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, and had the tying run at the plate, but Sahuaro held on to defeat the Falcons 7-5 Friday night, one day after the Cougars built up a 10-1 lead at Buena, only to lose the game 11-10.
Tucson and Catalina Foothills started their respective seasons out strong. The Badgers went 4-2 to take third place at the Red Mountain Lion Country Classic and the Falcons went 4-2 at the Canyon del Oro Dorado Classic but injuries, combined with a deadly schedule, has put the breaks to the Falcon’s fast start.
No. 2 Salpointe beat No. 3 Catalina Foothills 57-55 in overtime Thursday night to set up a 4A championship game against No. 1 Shadow Mountain on Saturday. While Shadow Mountain took care of No. 4 Moon Valley with ease, the game between Salpointe and Catalina Foothills went down to the wire.
No. 2 Salpointe will play No. 3 Catalina Foothills Thursday night in a 4A semifinal game scheduled to be played at Amphitheater at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to the championship set for Saturday afternoon.
No. 13 Sabino was the only 3A team from Southern Arizona to advance to the second round. The Sabercats (16-11) beat No. 20 Monument Valley 57-41 to set up a game against No.4 American Leadership (17-5) in a game to be played at Poston Butte High School.
No. 5 Catalina Foothills claimed the 4A Kino Region title with a 56-48 win over No.3 Salpointe on Thursday night. The victory gave the Falcons a 7-0 record in region play and a 14-3 record in power-ranking games.
There is no such thing as an “upset” when two top region opponents play each other this time of year and such was the case when No. 8 Catalina Foothills beat No. 2 Salpointe 52-41 Thursday night at home. The win gave the Falcons a 3-0 lead in the 4A Kino Region while the Lancers fell to 3-1.
Sahuaro improved to 9-2 on the year thanks to a 56-50 win at Tucson High Thursday night. The victory moved the Cougars one win closer to the quick start (10-2) they experienced last year but the team is hoping to avoid the late-season collapse that saw them missing the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Catalina Foothills beat Mountain View 2-0 on the final day of pool play at the Salpointe Brandon Bean Invitational Wednesday night. The victory gave the Falcons (2-0-1) the third seed coming out of Group C. Mountain View (1-2) did not advance out of pool play.
Catalina Foothills senior Kelsey Siemons poured in 25 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked four shots but it wasn’t enough to overcome Ironwood Ridge at home in a 48-45 overtime loss Tuesday night.