Teamwork carries Mojave past Liberty

Mojave's girls spent the first month of the basketball season trying to figure out how to play with a top Division I college recruit on their team.

On Friday, the rest of the Rattlers showed they're not in awe of Chelsea Hopkins.

Hopkins, who is headed to Duke next season, scored 36 points and got plenty of help in Mojave's 71-41 victory over Liberty in the Basic Lady Wolves Holiday Tournament.

Mojave, which also defeated Clark earlier Friday, will meet Butler (Pa.) for the Silver Division title at 10:30 this morning.

"The girls are starting to feel a little more comfortable about playing with Chelsea, instead of letting her do all the work," Mojave coach Rochuel Grayson said. "They're finally starting to get the hang of it and play team ball."

Hopkins was outstanding, as usual, scoring, distributing, blocking shots, rebounding and running the floor.

The other Rattlers, though, were nearly as impressive.

"Because Chelsea plays at such a high level, it makes our other players step up," Grayson said.

Aujanee Armstrong scored 11 points, all in the second half, for Mojave.

Post players Terreya Hymon and Jasmine Osteen both worked effectively down low, combining to shoot 5 of 9 from the field in the final three quarters.

Mojave also forced 28 turnovers, turning many of them into transition baskets.

Jade Washington led Liberty scorers with 15 points.

The Rattlers dropped a 67-52 decision to Butler on Thursday.

"We need to come out and be more aggressive," Grayson said. "We need to come out and play our game.

"When we play our game, there aren't many teams that can beat us."

In other Silver Division games:

• Mojave 66, Clark 51 -- Hopkins had 34 points, but the Chargers hung tough until a 24-12 Mojave run in the third quarter.

• Liberty 51, Del Sol 26 -- Ge'nai Fuentes led a balanced Patriots attack, coming off the bench to score 11 points, as Liberty cruised past the Dragons.

• Butler (Pa.) 91, Boulder City 28 -- Butler built a 35-10 lead after one quarter and had 13 players score in the game to rout the Eagles.

• Desert Pines 61, Cimarron-Memorial 47 -- Clarissa Davis scored 19 points, including a 6-for-8 effort from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, to help the Jaguars top the Spartans.

• Clark 42, Del Sol 33 -- Angelena Cook had 14 points and Chantelle Robinson and Joanna Umana 13 each to lead the Chargers to victory.

• Cimarron-Memorial 64, Boulder City 54 -- Precious Carroll scored 16 points as the Spartans held off Boulder City.

In the Gold Division:

• Bonanza 72, Cheyenne 36 -- Jill Gentile led four scorers in double figures with 16 points as the Bengals advanced to the title game to play Post Falls (Idaho).

Laura Nelson added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Bonanza, which held Cheyenne to 15 second-half points.

• Post Falls (Idaho) 54, Basic 34 -- Maya Darby scored 16 points for the Wolves, but the hosts didn't overcome a 10-for-41 effort from the field in a loss to the Trojans.

• Cheyenne 47, Faith Lutheran 38 -- Raven Hicks had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Desert Shields, who used a 16-4 third-quarter run to take the lead and get past the Crusaders.

• Bonanza 68, Foothill 34 -- Christin Figgins scored 17 points, including a 10-for-10 effort from the line, to lead the Bengals past the Falcons.

• Basic 41, Spring Valley 19 -- Lauren Johnson scored 16 points for the Wolves, who forced the Grizzlies into 41 turnovers.

• Post Falls (Idaho) 71, Shadow Ridge 47 -- Elisha Hensey's 21-point effort wasn't enough for the Mustangs. Post Falls' Katelyn Loper had 27 points.

• Faith Lutheran 41, Foothill 39 -- Meghann Smith scored 17 points for the Crusaders, who held off the Falcons in the closing seconds.