The Marana girls defeated Tucson Pueblo 43-34 Monday night in a preview of two teams having incredible seasons.

Pueblo freshmen Alicia Reyes, Ilyssa Galindo and Nysa Urena were in the second grade the last time the Warriors had a winning season. But this year, at 19-7 overall and 8-2 in sectional play, Pueblo is on the verge of clinching a Division II/Section II berth and a state playoff appearance. All they need is one more section win.

In short, Pueblo controls their own destiny.

Likewise, Marana is far removed from the program that reeled off four state championships from 1982 to 1989 under Mike Dyer. The Tigers lost the 2008 4A-I state title to Tucson Flowing Wells and then made it to the second round in 2011 but that was the year before their current six seniors arrived on campus.

Now, at 20-4 and 8-1 in Section VI, Marana has already punched their ticket to the playoffs.

The two teams couldn't be much more different than each other. While Marana sports three girls over 6-foot-1 and five players over 5-foot-10, Pueblo tops out at 5-foot-6.

Given what they have to work with, Marana likes to pound the ball inside and Pueblo likes to shoot 3-pointers.

Pueblo made six 3-pointers in the game with sophomore Araceli Loya hitting on two in the first quarter to pace Pueblo to a 12-9 lead and Reyes hit two more in the second quarter to give Pueblo a 20-19 lead at the half.

Loya made another in the third to keep the game tied at 27-27 and she made her fourth to give the Warriors a 32-30 lead with 4:45 left in the game. But Quinesha Mitchell tied the game up a few second later and Alyssa Perez made a free throw to give Marana a 33-32 lead with 3:36 left.

Urena scored with 2:40 left to give Pueblo its last lead at 34-33. The Warriors would not score again and Marana went on a 10-0 run thanks to six points from Jordan Wengert and four more from Moana Halaufia.

One would have to wonder just how far Pueblo would get if they had a true center on their roster. It is the only piece missing from their puzzle. They are fast, defend well and can shoot the lights out but they need someone inside.

Still, they are exciting to watch.

"This is really exciting but also nerve-racking at the same time," said Reyes. "I get to play with my best friends and it's a cool experience. I think by the time we are juniors we will be very good."

With only eight players on their roster, Pueblo sports one junior, four sophomores and three freshmen. Reyes promises there is a taller player coming their way in two years. That just might be the team to beat.

On the other hand, Marana has six seniors including Wengert, Halaufia and Dixie State commit Kortnee Day.

Wengert finished with 14 points, Halaufia added 11 and Day scored seven early points to keep Marana in the game.

"They were a tough team and very physical," said Wengert. "We knew they were good but we came together as a team to get the win."

Wengert and Day are both looking forward to their first playoff game and they feel it's the team chemistry that got them here.

"I'm super excited," said Day. "We worked really hard for it. I think we jell more as a team since we have all been together for so long."

The sectional tournaments for the girls will begin on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The top four teams from each section will qualify and the winner of each sectional will earn an automatic bid to the state playoffs. You can find the section standings here at AZPreps365.com.