Size, speed propel Shadow Ridge girls to victory

Shadow Ridge's pressure, speed and size made for the perfect triple threat Thursday.

The Mustangs used an aggressive zone press to force 32 turnovers, took advantage of a size edge in the post and ran wild in a 67-50 home girls basketball win over Palo Verde.

"If we can press, we can do very well," Shadow Ridge coach Gary Markuson said. "It's just their desire and their hustle that makes it work."

The Mustangs (13-7, 7-4 Northwest), whose five starters played nearly 145 of a possible 160 minutes, were everywhere at once, suffocating Palo Verde (22-6, 8-3).

"That's the best game I've seen them play," Palo Verde coach Rick Eurich said. "They were just on. They wanted it more than we did."

Still, Palo Verde led 21-20 after one quarter as it made 8 of 14 shots.

As the game and Shadow Ridge's pressure wore on, though, Palo Verde got fewer good looks. In the final three quarters, Palo Verde was 13 of 42 from the field with 24 turnovers.

The turnovers led to easy baskets, and when the transition baskets weren't there, 6-foot post player Robyn Goodspeed was.

Goodspeed, who had a huge size advantage over most of Palo Verde's post players, played one of her best games of the season, scoring 14 points and blocking a handful of shots.

"She hasn't been scoring like that until tonight," Markuson said. "She just did an awesome job for us."

Cheyana Slocum led Shadow Ridge with 19 points. Hayley Henderson led the Panthers with 18 points, despite leaving with an apparent right thigh injury with four minutes left.

• Tech 54, Coronado 51 -- At Coronado, Adriana Heredia had 14 points and Mechel'la Logan 13 as the Roadrunners claimed the overtime win.

Danielle Boyle had 14 points and Courtney Whitaker 13 for the Cougars, who outscored Tech 19-6 in the fourth quarter to force the extra period.

• Legacy 66, Cimarron-Memorial 60 -- At Legacy, Breana Watkins had 25 points as the Longhorns prevailed.

Kindrea Poole added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Legacy. Catherine Wyre led the Spartans with 27 points.

• Centennial 79, Mojave 58 -- At Mojave, Johnna Brown scored 25 points, and the Bulldogs used a 27-14 second quarter to take control.

Deanna Daniels had 19 points for Centennial and Chelsea Hopkins 29 for Mojave.

• Durango 78, Clark 56 -- At Clark, Austin Rarere and Mia Bell each had 18 points to lead the Trailblazers.

Chantelle Robinson had 25 points and Alicia Wilbert 12 rebounds for the Chargers.

• Cheyenne 46, Arbor View 24 -- At Arbor View, Raven Hicks had 23 points to lead the Desert Shields over the Aggies.

Erika Lang had 13 points for Arbor View.

BOYS

• Durango 46, Clark 45 -- At Clark, D.J. Stennis' last-second heave propelled the Trailblazers to the victory.

Stennis got the ball with five seconds left and the Chargers up 45-43. Rabbit Toler blocked his first shot attempt, but Stennis recovered and hoisted a 25-footer that banked in.

Marcus Falley led the Trailblazers with 18 points. Toler scored 15 for the Chargers.

• Coronado 73, Tech 54 -- At Tech, Christian Hatch and Tommy Tebbs each scored 22 points as the Cougars rolled.

Brandon Tiffany had 21 points for the Roadrunners.

• Mojave 75, Centennial 43 -- At Mojave, Alex Montgomery had 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Rattlers.

Kevin James added 13 points and 20 rebounds for Mojave.

• Palo Verde 70, Shadow Ridge 57 -- At Shadow Ridge, Liloa Nobriga had 18 points and 17 rebounds for the Panthers.

Joshua Berkley had 21 points for the Mustangs.

• Cheyenne 74, Arbor View 50 -- At Arbor View, Ricky Henry had 15 points to lead the Desert Shields. James Graham scored 12 for the Aggies.

• Cimarron-Memorial 91, Legacy 76 -- At Legacy, Mike Cutright and Tyler Tuliau each scored 24 points to lead the Spartans. Sam Johnson had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Longhorns.