Lauren Green is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Chandler for AZPreps365.com

CHANDLER — Chandler girls basketball coach AJ Greenough said that since the Wolves' last meeting with Perry, their game had improved, and they had the intention of showcasing that during their last game before playoffs.

Greenough anticipated a different type of effort on Tuesday in this 6A Premier Region rematch against the Pumas after Chandler’s recent victory over No. 4 Hamilton.

Although the Wolves demonstrated this force and confidence in a strong second-half surge against the Pumas, Chandler ultimately could not hold off Perry, resulting in a 68-54 defeat.

“We get really defeated really easily,” senior point guard Nia Halafuka said. “I think if we just play a whole 32 minutes and put it all together into one game, then we can definitely get far in the playoffs.”

Chandler (11-7 , 3-5) started off with an urgency on the court going on a 7-0 run within the first two minutes of the game leaving Perry scoreless and frazzled.,

Puma coach Andrew Curtis soon called a timeout after the Wolves knocked down a three-pointer with ease. Perry (12-6 , 4-4) soon came into full form. Their defensive pressure was tenacious, causing turnovers and frustration for the Wolves.

Perry’s transition game started to become an apparent problem after scoring off three Chandler turnovers.

“White, we’ve got to have some composure,” coach Greenough shouted to his players.

The second quarter led to the same issues but for almost the full eight minutes. The Pumas swarmed the Wolves to gain defensive stops. Whether they were adding full court pressure or guarding on a Chandler possession, the Pumas caused havoc as Chandler continued to lose composure.

The Wolves could not find any offensive flow and ultimately allowed Perry to score off eight points off Chandler turnovers.

Perry was dangerously good in its transition play. In turn, at the half, the Wolves trailed 38-22.

Everything changed in the third quarter. Chandler came out with a different mindset — something instilled in the team by coach Greenough in the locker room. “I told them ‘It's a possession by possession; there's no 15-point shot’,” Greenough said. “We're going to have to play hard defense, rebound and then finish on the other end and that’s what we did.”

The Wolves came out with confidence and started to break through the Pumas’ defense with a newfound effort.

Halafuka became vocal when calling plays and emanated a contagious presence to step up to the plate and compete—her teammates followed suit.

“When she's (Halafuka) playing strong and confident and rallying the rest of the team," Greenough said. "It just brings our level up to a whole other dimension,”

Halafuka and junior shooting guard Autumn Rodriguez led the way in scoring for the Wolves, tallying 11 points each.

Turnovers and fouls fell into Puma paws this quarter from this energy with two major back-to-back blocks coming from sophomore forward Kamil Young adding onto the Wolves’ run. Chandler’s cohesive defense also caused a four-minute scoring drought for Perry.

Chandler’s third-quarter sparked hope through several free-throw opportunities, and-ones, shooting — anything you can think of, Chandler did in that third quarter to outscore Perry 21-8 heading into the fourth.

Chandler’s comeback began to cause enough frustration for a technical on coach Curtis. The Wolves cut their 15-point deficit to just five entering the final stretch, but old habits returned. Perry raked in points off Chandler turnovers once again.

Perry’s junior duo of point guard Jayla Cal and 6-foot-1-inch forward Khamil Pierre was unmatched this quarter notching 14-points together. Cal led the Pumas with 21 points with Pierre not far behind with 17.  

“She's (Cal) been varsity since a freshman and played very little,” Curtis said. “And she just keeps getting better and better.”

Pierre towered over Chandler defenders as she swiveled through the Wolves’ defense and effortlessly kissed the ball off the glass with just two minutes left, helping seal the Puma victory.

As Chandler eventually drifted away from the victory, Halafuka came out with a minor knee injury as the game ended. Chandler finished fourth in the 6A Premier Region and now awaits its playoff berth.

“This is all practice for a hopeful playoff run,” Greenough said.