DIVISION I-A GIRLS: Experienced Hawkins leads Cowboys to win

Chaparral girls coach Christopher McFarland had a gut feeling Marcia Hawkins would be key in his team’s first-round playoff game, as she was the only player on the team with any playoff experience.

Hawkins, a junior, played like a veteran should on Wednesday against Cheyenne.

Hawkins scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half to help the Cowboys hang on for a 52-40 win over the visiting Desert Shields in the opening round of the Division I-A Southern Region tournament. Chaparral (19-6) faces Faith Lutheran (21-5) at 6:20 p.m. Thursday at Spring Valley.

“It doesn’t get much better than that for her,” McFarland said. “She’s been on this (varsity) level for three years. She’s the only one that’s been to the playoffs and knows what it tastes like so I told her, ‘This is your time. You have the taste in your mouth. Put the team on your back and let’s roll.’”

Hawkins, the lone holdover from Chaparral’s 2013 playoff team, came up huge in the second half for the Cowboys, who nearly lost a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.

Hawkins had eight of her points in the fourth, and finished with eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots. With leading scorer Taij Criss-Felton being held to just four points, Hawkins’ production was more important than usual.

“We kind of knew they were going to double team her,” Hawkins said of Criss-Felton. “So I had to be the one on the team to step up. (My experience) helped out big time, because most of the girls on our team haven’t experienced the playoffs. It was a good experience. I helped my team out, and now they’ve got that taste in their mouth like I do.”

Chaparral led by double-digits for most of the game, including a 27-12 lead with 2:10 left in the second quarter. But the Cowboys were forced into some late drama after Cheyenne outscored them 17-8 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 35-33.

“I wasn’t worried,” Hawkins said. “We’ve been in situations like that and we’re a team. We’re a family. I know my team just has to talk to each other and we’ll pick it up like we did tonight.”

Chaparral forced eight turnovers in the last eight minutes and didn’t give up a field goal until Dominique Hudson hit a 3-pointer with 2:40 to play. It was one of two field goals for Cheyenne in the fourth quarter.

“We talked about it at halftime that they were going to come out a little hungry and aggressive,” McFarland said. “We still had to keep our composure, which we did a pretty good job of. But we almost let it get away from us.”

Bria Buchanan had 10 points, 15 rebounds and two blocks to lead Cheyenne. Hudson and Alexcia Weatherly each added seven points, and Da’Vione Lomax had 10 rebounds for the Desert Shields (10-12).

Clark 61, Boulder City 56 — At Boulder City, Bobbi Floyd scored 29 points as the Chargers edged the Eagles (18-9).

Ariel Hamilton and Shyanne Carter-Wade each supplied 10 points for Clark (12-13), which outscored Boulder City 17-13 in the fourth quarter.

The Chargers play Spring Valley (26-1) in the semifinals at 3 p.m. Thursday at Spring Valley.

Megan Morton scored 24 points to lead the Eagles, who got 10 points apiece from Katlyn Daly and Alyssa Ybarra.

Faith Lutheran 61, Virgin Valley 46 — At Faith Lutheran, Haley Vinson scored 19 points, and Madison Bocobo added 18 points to power the Crusaders past the Bulldogs (14-10).

Morgan Hill had 10 points for Faith Lutheran, which raced out to a 33-15 halftime advantage.

Virgin Valley’s Kourtney Metzger had 14 points, and Spencer Green scored 13 points for the Bulldogs.

Spring Valley 61, Sunrise Mountain 49 — At Spring Valley, Essence Booker scored 26 points to lead the Grizzlies to victory over the Miners.

Kayla Harris added 15 points for Spring Valley, which outscored Sunrise Mountain 39-26 in the second half.

Nina Carpenter had 19 points to lead Sunrise Mountain (13-14), which got 11 points from Tayaa Pratt.