DEL SOL TOURNEY: Rahkonen keys Legacy’s comeback

Legacy’s girls basketball team seemed destined to lose on the first day of the season Friday.

The Longhorns couldn’t stop committing fouls and trailed Faith Lutheran by 11 points early in the third quarter.

But suddenly, everything just clicked.

Carolina Rahkonen scored all of her 20 points during the second half as Legacy rallied for a 56-38 win over the Crusaders in the Season Tip-Off Tournament at Del Sol.

“We were finally able to keep them off the foul line, and we started getting better spacing on defense,” Legacy coach Tiffany Richardson said. “A lot of their points in the first half came on free throws, and we couldn’t keep doing that.”

After posting a 57-5 win over Sierra Vista in their first game of the day, the Longhorns (2-0) didn’t move well on defense in the first 18 minutes of their second game.

As a result, the Longhorns committed 12 first-half fouls and gave up too many easy baskets down low. Faith Lutheran post Alex Wright had 11 points in the first half, and guard Dani Tharaldson added nine points — seven from the free-throw line — in the half.

The Crusaders (1-1) bumped their lead to 31-20 in the opening minutes of the third quarter before Legacy increased its defensive pressure. The Longhorns’ full-court press was effective in forcing turnovers, and Legacy cashed in.

Faith Lutheran made only two field goals in the final 14 minutes.

“We were definitely more aggressive defensively,” Richardson said. “I always tell them that if you don’t do anything else, play defense.”

It didn’t hurt that Rahkonen, a foreign exchange student from Finland, caught fire. A 5-foot-9-inch senior wing, Rahkonen scored 10 points in the third quarter as Legacy rallied to take a 40-37 lead. She tacked on 10 more points, including two 3-pointers, in the fourth quarter to help the Longhorns pull away.

“Carolina is a newbie for us, but she can do a lot of things,” Richardson said.

Charleea Armstrong added 10 points, and Danae Jensen and Markeshia Evans each scored seven for Legacy.

Wright scored 16 and Tharaldson 11 for the Crusaders.

“We have to learn to play with a little adversity,” Richardson said. “We didn’t have any in our first game, and I don’t think they came out ready in this game. We’ll take it. It’s a good start.”

Legacy 57, Sierra Vista 5 — Rahkonen led three double-figure scorers with 13 points, and the Longhorns raced to a 45-1 lead after three quarters en route to the win.

Armstrong added 12 points, and Aviana Clark scored 10 for Legacy.

Kimayah Love scored four points for Sierra Vista.

Faith Lutheran 57, Sierra Vista 30 — Morgan Hill scored 14 points, and Tharaldson added 13 points to lift the Crusaders past the Mountain Lions.

Kennedy Nieves had 17 points for Sierra Vista.

Foothill 47, Pahrump Valley 6 — The Falcons outscored the Trojans 40-2 in the middle two quarters to pull away for the win.

Kelsey McFarland had 14 points, and Taylor Turney scored 10 for Foothill, which led only 7-4 after the first quarter.

Pahrump made just two field goals, but none in the final three quarters.

Foothill 55, Silverado 15 — Mikayla Yeakel poured in 13 of her 18 points in the second half to help the Falcons blitz the Skyhawks.

McFarland added 12 points, and Turney scored 11 for Foothill, which opened the game on an 18-2 run. Foothill also used a 20-0 run in the second half to pull away.

Silverado 61, Pahrump Valley 24 — Deja Siaki made five 3-pointers and had 23 points as the Skyhawks rolled by the Trojans.

Monet Salazar added 13 points for Silverado.

Alyssa Murphy paced Pahrump with seven points.

Rancho 46, Coronado 44 — Tatianna Lee scored seven of her 17 points in the fourth quarter as the Rams held off the Cougars.

Lee’s basket with 2:40 to play gave the Rams a 40-36 lead.

Coronado closed the deficit to two (41-39), but Lee hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final minute to help Rancho hold on.

Darje Martin added 11 points, and LaKissa Martin scored 10 for Rancho.

Dajah Washington paced the Cougars with 11 points.

Rancho 48, Desert Pines 26 — Maureen Macato led a balanced Rancho attack with 10 points, and the Rams built a 38-8 lead after three quarters to down the Jaguars.

LaKissa Martin added nine points for Rancho.

Deisy Flores paced Desert Pines with nine points.

Coronado 55, Desert Pines 29 — Washington paced three double-figure scorers with 12 points to lead the Cougars by the Jaguars.

Samantha Green scored 11, and Karlie Thorn had 10 points for Coronado, which led 29-9 at the half.

Chrystian Myles scored 13 of her 19 points in the second half for Desert Pines.

Arbor View 72, Mojave 22 — Jocelyn Jordan had 18 points, and Ariona Gill scored 17 to help the Aggies rout the Rattlers.

Janae Strode added 12 points for Arbor View, which led only 14-10 late in the first quarter before pulling away.

Rayena Rael led Mojave with nine points.

Arbor View 60, Del Sol 13 — Dana Lewis scored 20 points, and the Aggies outscored the Dragons 48-6 in the final three quarters.

Gill chipped in 12 points, and Strode scored 11 for Arbor View.

Sayanna Roy had seven points for Del Sol.

Del Sol 29, Mojave 23 — Roy scored 14 of her 18 points in the first half as the Dragons held off the Rattlers.