Defense buoys Palo Verde over Desert Oasis

Coach Phil Clarke thought for a while when asked if he had seen his Palo Verde girls basketball team play a better half of defense than it displayed Wednesday.

Finally, he gave up. There wasn't much need to think.

The Panthers played remarkable defense for the first 16 minutes, holding visiting Desert Oasis to a 2-for-19 shooting effort with 13 turnovers and six points in the first half, and cruised to a 38-21 win in a Sunset Region quarterfinal.

Palo Verde (21-7) will face Bishop Gorman at 6:20 tonight at Desert Oasis in a semifinal.

"Our focus was on their main three guards, and to hold that team to just six points in the first half ..." Clarke said. He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't have to.

The Panthers, whose tallest starter is listed at 5 feet 8 inches, swarmed Desert Oasis from the start and took a 22-6 halftime lead.

The Diamondbacks (17-8) start four guards and went to an all-guard lineup less than two minutes into the game but still couldn't handle Palo Verde's full-court trap.

Even when Desert Oasis got a chance to shoot, the shots were challenged. Two were blocked, and another handful were off-balance. Still more were of the circus variety.

"We like to make things hectic, use our quickness," Clarke said. "When we jumped the ball or doubled the ball, we just made sure we rotated to the backside. We don't have that big shot blocker to be an eraser. Our quickness has to be our eraser."

The Diamondbacks entered the game averaging slightly more than 51 points per game. Only twice all season had they failed to get to 40 in a game -- both against Gorman -- and never had they been held to fewer than 31.

But Palo Verde's defense, combined with the nerves the Diamondbacks showed competing in the first playoff game in the program's history, never let Desert Oasis get going.

Leading scorer Tatiana Kearn, who came in averaging better than 14 points per game, took four shots and didn't score.

"We did a great job on her," Clarke said. "We just made sure we knew where she was. Every guard took their turn with her and never let her get going."

Desert Oasis finished with more turnovers (24) than points and shot 8 of 37.

Meanwhile, Palo Verde wasn't sharp on offense but did just enough to never let the Diamondbacks get close.

Jasmin Kiley led the Panthers with 10 points, and Lily Tapusoa and Alyssa Amoruso added eight points apiece.

Nicole Ameli and Dominique Bryant each grabbed nine rebounds for Palo Verde.

Sammi Tso paced Desert Oasis with 11 points.

■ Sierra Vista 51, Legacy 46 -- At Sierra Vista, Jeanette Jackson had 24 points to lead the Mountain Lions.

Jasmine Suarez added 18 points for Sierra Vista, which led 16-10 after one quarter.

The Mountain Lions (21-6) will face Centennial in a semifinal at 3 p.m. today at Desert Oasis.

Makayla Hicks had 16 points for Legacy (21-7). Shakita Cox and Latia Matthews each added 10 points for the Longhorns.

■ Bishop Gorman 88, Mojave 49 -- At Gorman, Zhane Dikes had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Gaels (22-5) rolled.

Dikes had 16 points in the first half as Gorman stormed to a 54-22 lead.

April Rivers added 18 points for Gorman. Julia Ewalefo scored 12 points, Amber Lane 11 and Diamond Major 10 for the Gaels.

Jazzmine Robinson led Mojave (12-15) with 25 points.

■ Centennial 73, Durango 33 -- At Centennial, Ashley Klemz had 17 points, and the Bulldogs (28-1) soared to a 45-14 halftime lead.

Courtney Hayes added 14 points and Denajha Kie 13 for Centennial.

Amanda Boucher led the Trailblazers (14-14) with nine points.