Defending 4A girls hoops champ and top-seed Seton Catholic wasn't about to be toyed with Friday in its quarterfinal matchup with #9 Coconino. The Sentinels nursed an 8-5 lead halfway through the first period. Two minutes later the margin hit 17-5. By quarter's end it was 23-9. Nothing changed by the time the contest ended with the Sentinels gradually extending the lead and finishing with a 64-31 home victory.

Seton (18-1) advances to host Wednesday's semifinals against familiar Desert Sky Region foe Mesquite. #4 Mesquite edged #5 Notre Dame Prep, 36-32. Seton and Mesquite have met twice this season with Seton delivering two decisive double-digit wins. This is the 12th year in a row Seton has reached the state semis or better. The Sentinels have won eight titles in that span.

"These kids are in all-business mode," Seton coach Karen Self said. "They know what we need to do and they do it."

Unselfish play and hard-nosed defense are staples for Seton and of course were on display. Six players - four who were starters last year - are making it easy for the traditional play to continue. Senior guard Amanda Barcello led the effort with 21 points. Junior Sasha Daniel, the first- half catalyst offensively and defensively, had 15 points (all registered in the first half). Junior guard Lexi McNabb added 12 points and fellow starters Bella DiGiovanni and Jamie Gillian added 7 and 6 points, respectively.

Seton's defense made it tough for Coconino to get any consistent offense going. The Panthers scored 18 points in the first half and committed 14 turnovers compared to three by Seton. Daniel's ability to come up with steals led to some of her own points and the Sentinels couple used turnovers to piece together a couple of picturesque fast breaks helping expand the lead to 38-18 at intermission. Seton llimited Coconino to two points in the third period for a 51-20 edge after three quarters. That put in motion a running clock for the fourth period.

A milestone was reached by Amanda Barcello in the fourth quarter as her final basket put her at the 1,000-point mark in her career. Older sisters Julia and Sarah also reached the 1,000-point mark in their careers at Seton as did older brother Alex, competing at Corona del Sol. 

"We had to grind it out with her the last few games to get to 1,000," Self said. "Amanda's an overly generous player and passes up a lot of shots. This team works the ball and isn't afraid to share it. We can have a different scorer lead us often. It makes us hard to defend."

 

 

 

 

Coconino (11-3) at Seton Catholic (17-1)