Christenson gives Gators spark in victory

Danielle Christenson erased a half's worth of frustration with two shots Monday.

The Green Valley sophomore guard hit consecutive 3-pointers 24 seconds apart in the third quarter to trigger the Gators' 74-64 win at Silverado.

Christenson, who hadn't scored all game, launched a game-tying 3 from the left wing with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter, then gave her team the lead for good on the next trip down the floor.

The win clinched the Southeast Division title for Green Valley (23-3, 12-0).

"That was the spark we needed," Gators coach Lorenzo Jarvis said. "We know Danielle is a good shooter. In the first half, she was a little bit cold, but we knew we would come back to her."

The first 3-pointer started a 17-6 run that carried Green Valley from a 39-36 deficit to a 53-45 lead.

"I knew they were good right when I let them go," said Christenson, who finished with 15 points. "It felt really good."

Silverado (20-9, 10-2) rallied to within 53-50 early in the fourth quarter, but a 7-0 Gators run put the game away.

Christenson was far from the only hero for Green Valley.

Senior point guard Victoria Naylor had 25 points and 12 assists, seven of those coming in the third quarter.

Naylor had a hand in 54 of the Gators' 74 points, including 36 of the team's 48 second-half points.

"She knows how to pass it," Christenson said of Naylor. "She tells you where to go. She's just a pure point guard. She does everything."

Jazmine Jarvis added 15 points and Sarah Pickus scored 11 for Green Valley.

Shea Collins had 30 points to lead Silverado. Jessica Schmidt added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Skyhawks, who committed 30 turnovers.

• Palo Verde 47, Legacy 46 -- At Palo Verde, Natalie Ramirez hit two free throws with two seconds to play to give the Panthers the win.

The game was tied at 45 when a Palo Verde player was hit with a technical foul, and the Longhorns hit one foul shot to take the lead.

Mikala Pride had 21 points to lead Palo Verde. Kindrea Poole led Legacy with 12 points.

• Cimarron-Memorial 68, Shadow Ridge 67 -- At Cimarron-Memorial, Catherine Wyre had 29 points, including the game-winning free throw with nine seconds left, as the Spartans rallied to beat the Mustangs.

Precious Carroll added 18 points, including eight in the fourth quarter as Cimarron outscored Shadow Ridge 27-7.

Elisha Hensey led Shadow Ridge with 27 points.

• Centennial 98, Arbor View 15 -- At Arbor View, the Bulldogs bolted to a 31-0 lead after one quarter and cruised from there en route to clinching the Northwest Division title.

Dela Jones led Centennial with 27 points and Deanna Daniels scored 20.

• Mojave 57, Cheyenne 35 -- At Cheyenne, Chelsea Hopkins had 21 points as the Rattlers beat the Desert Shields.

Ayoola Weaver had 15 points for Cheyenne.

• Basic 49, Coronado 34 -- At Coronado, Michaela Thomas had 11 points as the Wolves defeated the Cougars.

Danielle Boyle had 14 points to lead Coronado.

• Liberty 54, Tech 37 -- At Liberty, Daynice Cochran had 17 points and 11 rebounds as the Patriots beat the Roadrunners.

Liberty held Tech scoreless in the second quarter.

Cheryl Harless scored 12 points for the Roadrunners.

• Foothill 55, Del Sol 23 -- At Foothill, Renee Pedroza led a balanced scoring attack with eight points as the Falcons defeated the Dragons.

Del Sol's Thelma Padilla led all scorers with 10 points.