Mingus rallied from 13 points down to grab a four-point lead in the fourth period, but Winslow avoided a complete meltdown to advance to the Division III state semifinals with a 50-49 win.

Mingus came back in the third period by outscoring Winslow 18-8 and went up 44-40 with 4:32 left in the fourth period. It turned into a back and forth battle from that point on.

With about 1:30 remaining, Mingus was up 49-48 when it missed a layup. After the miss, a wild scrum ensued, which ended after Winslow's Dalvin Benally completed a 2 on 1 break with layup. Mingus got another chance to extend its season when it went to the line for two with 3.2 seconds left.

But it missed both attempts and the clock ran out, sending No. 4 Winslow (25-7) to Friday’s 7 p.m. semifinals against No. 1 seed Estrella Foothills at Gila River Arena.

D-III girls: Final push sends Chinle to semifinals

Chinle and Safford took turns missing and scoring in bunches.

But Chinle made the final scoring push that counted in its 48-37 win over Safford. Chinle missed a slew of threes but kept shooting until its slump ended in the waning minutes.

Safford had a seven-point lead, 30-23, at the 5:00 mark of the third period but only made three field goals in the remainder of the game. Chinle (21-5) rediscovered its offensive mojo after back-to-back threes from Nikesha Eagleman in the third period, when Chinle’s up-tempo game picked up thanks to its active hands on defense.

Chinle guard Nahatabaa Nacona had eight steals to go along with 12 points and seven rebounds. Damareece Camarena (12 rebounds), freshman Deion Abalos, and Crystal Haase each scored in double figures for Safford (28-3).

Abalos hit a three as the buzzer sounded to send her squad into halftime with a 23-20 advantaged. Chinle, which hadn’t won more than 20 games in the past decade until this season, will play No. 1 seed Valley Christian in Friday’s 5:15 state semifinal game at Gila River Arena.

D-III boys: Scottsdale Christian asserts itself early

Scottsdale Christian jumped out to a 20-5 lead in the first period and never looked back in its 54-34 state quarterfinal D-III victory at Gila River Arena.

No. 6 seed Window Rock (27-10) actually outscored Scottsdale Christian (25-4), the No. 3 seed in the tournament, in the second and fourth periods but the early hole was too big to climb out of. Scottsdale Christian also was just too big in the low post, and Window Rock’s offense only on got on track during a couple of minutes in the second period.

Brad Swetonic dunked twice in Scottsdale Christian’s opening 16-0 run. Up next for Scottsdale Christian is a 3:30 p.m. meeting with the No. 2 seed Snowflake in Friday’s state semifinals at Gila River Arena.

Swetonic, center Ethan Spry and guard Reed Myers combined to score 33 of Scottsdale Christian’s 54 points.

D-III girls: South Mountain’s big 4^th period buries Pueblo

Pueblo couldn’t stop Najiyyah Pack (36 points) and South Mountain’s attack in the fourth period in South Mountain’s 64-33 girls state quarterfinal win.

Pueblo was only behind 35-28 entering the fourth period, but that’s when South Mountain’s transition game and drives to the hoop by Pack and Ozahria Fisher (12 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assist) really took over the game.

But Pack and Ozahria, South Mountain’s senior leaders, have been doing that all year. South Mountain is two wins away from becoming just the third school from the Phoenix Union District to win a girls basketball title in the past 20 years.

The last one to do it was South Mountain in 2008. South Mountain (23-8), the No. 3 seed in the D-III tournament, will be the favorite in Friday’s semifinal game against No. 7 Window Rock, which upset No. 2 Page in the quarterfinals.

But Window Rock will have a throng of devoted fans cheering for it to upset the most dynamic team in the D-III field remaining.