LADY WOLVES: Shaw caps strong comeback to lead Desert Shield girls past Marina

Cheyenne’s girls basketball team played well enough Wednesday to keep the score within reach for 30 minutes.

The final two minutes were a different story.

Britnee Shaw nailed a 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining to spark a dominant closing run, and the Desert Shields went on to beat Marina (Calif.) 41-39 to win the Bronze Division championship of the Lady Wolves Holiday Tournament at Basic.

“That was our closest game of the season,” Cheyenne coach Kristal Cummings said. “I told the girls at halftime that we were going to win by rebounding and defense, not by offense.”

The Desert Shields fell behind in the second quarter and appeared outmatched when Marina’s Sloan Turner nailed a seven-foot baseline jumper to give the Vikings a 33-25 lead with 1:48 left in the third quarter.

But Cheyenne cut the deficit to 39-34 with 3:08 to play and stole momentum when Shaw hit her 3-pointer to make it 39-37 late in the fourth.

“The best thing is that a shot like that makes everyone play harder on defense,” Cummings said.

The Desert Shields’ defense, which held Marina scoreless over the final 4:21, refused to allow the

Vikings to get good looks in the paint. Shaw took advantage of her opponents’ frustration by stealing a pass and taking it to the hoop for a layup to tie the score at 39 with 32 seconds to play.

Brenyatta Young’s steal and resulting  layup with 7 seconds left put Cheyenne ahead for good, as Marina’s Lauren Dorame just missed a 3-pointer at the final horn.

“This win was very important because we went undefeated in this tournament,” Cummings said. “We’ll go back into school undefeated in our last six games.”

Shaw had 11 points and four steals to lead Cheyenne, and teammate Hannah Tatum had 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

Turner scored 11 of her team-high 19 points in the first half to lead the Vikings before getting into foul trouble down the stretch.

Boulder City 52, Del Sol 27 — The Eagles logged an easy victory after outscoring the Dragons 13-2 in the first quarter.

Karlee Koopman led Boulder City with a game-high 18 points.

Kimberly Chischillie led Del Sol with nine points.

Basic 46, Mt. Eden (Calif.) 43 — The Wolves jumped ahead early and hung on for a win over the Monarchs.

Shanice Valentine scored 20 to lead Basic, which grabbed a 15-8 first-quarter advantage. Kailai Brantner added 13 points for the Wolves.

Spring Valley 58, Bonanza 31— The Grizzlies used an 18-0 second-quarter scoring advantage to establish the tempo on the way to a victory over the Bengals.

Jessica Stevens scored 18 points to lead Spring Valley, which trailed 8-6 after the first quarter.

Tranee Jenkins led Bonanza with 10 points.

SILVER DIVISION

Silverado 46, Pueblo East (Colo.) 35 — The Skyhawks took over in the fourth quarter to defeat the Eagles in the Silver Division championship game.

Natalie Lainhart scored 18 points to lead Silverado, which trailed 18-15 at halftime. Teammate Tae’lor Monroe added 12 points.

Faith Lutheran 57, Damonte Ranch 38 — Kelsey McCourt scored 19 points to help the Crusaders roll past the Mustangs.

Taylor Hammer added 16 points for Faith Lutheran, which jumped to a 24-6 first-quarter lead.

Tech 50, Shadow Ridge 37 — Mesha Phillips scored 21 points to lift the Roadrunners past the Mustangs.

Adriana Heredia added 11 points for Tech, which had to rally after falling behind 11-8 in the first quarter.

Valley 65, Desert Oasis 41 — The Vikings seized control from the start and cruised past the Diamondbacks.

Christina Davis and Shayna Wilson each scored 14 points to lead Valley.

Sammi Tso scored 13 points to lead Desert Oasis, which trailed 23-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Liberty 68, Denver East 57 — The Patriots rallied from a first-half deficit to win the Gold Division championship with a victory over the Angels.

Jade Washington scored 18 points to lead Liberty, which fell behind by seven points before establishing the tempo in the second quarter. The senior guard had a layup with 6:33 remaining in the first half put the Patriots ahead 20-19, and Liberty never relinquished the lead.

Defense played a key role, as Patriots coach Quintin Lester gave Alena Evans plenty of playing time after Denver East made the most of a 13-4 rebounding advantage in the first quarter.

Evans did her job, scoring 16 points, while logging 12 rebounds and three steals. Liberty outrebounded the Angels 25-17 over the final three quarters.

“Evans is a high-energy player,” said Lester, whose squad forced 30 turnovers. “That’s what she does. She’s an offensive rebounding magnet.”

An 8-0 second-quarter scoring spurt stretched the advantage to 30-21 for Liberty, which led 32-23 at halftime.

A late rally by the Angels cut the deficit to 54-47, but Liberty scored the game’s final eight points to seal the win.

“This was a big win because I don’t think anybody on this team has won a holiday tournament,” Lester said. “This was one of our goals at the beginning of the season.”

Destiny Whitehead added 10 points to help the Patriots.

Rancho 47, Foothill 42 — Mariah Coleman scored 13 points to help the Rams rally past the Falcons.

Breanna Frazer scored a game-high 16 points to lead Foothill, which led 41-30 after three quarters.

Boyd County (Ky.) 73, Las Vegas 55 — The Lions’ Logan Fraley nailed seven 3-pointers to help her team cruise past the Wildcats.

Shomari Harris scored 23 points for Las Vegas, but the Wildcats had no answer for Boyd County’s 14 3-pointers.