Gators’ Mack keeps paint all to herself

Green Valley's girls basketball roster lists Angelica Mack at 6 feet tall.

To Tech, she must have looked 8 feet tall with a 747's wingspan Friday.

The junior post scored 19 points and grabbed 23 rebounds as Green Valley secured a berth in the Sunrise Region playoffs with a 63-47 Southeast League victory over the visiting Roadrunners.

"She came to play tonight. It was in her eyes," Gators coach Ashley Brooks said. "She told me before the game she was going to rebound."

Mack, who had at least a 4-inch height advantage on any Tech defender, had 10 rebounds in the first seven minutes and prevented the Roadrunners from establishing any offense in the paint.

Tech (10-10, 6-6) had only six baskets in the key in the 29 minutes Mack played.

Aided by solid defensive efforts by Shavon Stevens and Maggie Manwarren against Tech's guards, the Gators (13-7, 8-4 Southeast) pulled away to a 63-33 lead with 3:57 remaining.

Before fouling out, Stevens held Roadrunners sharpshooter Adriana Heredia to six points in the first 2½ quarters, and Manwarren allowed point guard Mesha Phillips six baskets on 23 attempts.

"Shavon played very good defense. She wasn't allowed to (leave Heredia) all night," Brooks said. "I told Maggie just to bother (Phillips). Everybody else just kind of helped."

Tech (10-10, 6-6) made only 14 of 59 shots from the field and didn't get many second looks, largely because of Mack and the rest of the Gators' defense. The Roadrunners didn't got into a rhythm until scoring the final 14 points, mostly against Green Valley's bench.

Stevens scored 16 points and Manwarren and Mackenzie Butler had 11 each for Green Valley, which moved into a tie with Foothill for second place in the Southeast. Both are two games ahead of Tech, Silverado and Coronado with two games to play.

"I was a little worried about this game just because they have beaten some good teams in our league," Brooks said. "We need to come play every game. We were mentally ready tonight."

Heredia finished with 21 points, scoring 15 in the final 12 minutes, and Phillips scored 19.

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.