D-II girls hoops: Seton, Thunderbird post QF routs

February 26, 2015 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365


The high seeds held serve Thursday afternoon as No. 3 Thunderbird and No. 2 Seton Catholic completed the Division II girls basketball semifinal pairings.

Thunderbird outscored No. 6 Sierra Linda, 17-4, in the second period to break open a tight game and eventually posted a 66-50 victory in the first of two games at Chaparral High School. Defending champion Seton followed up by piling up a 29-12 edge in the second half to eliminate No. 10 Sahuaro, 55-30.

Seton (28-5) battles Thunderbird (30-2) Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Grand Canyon University  -- the first of four D-I and D-II semis ar GCU. Seton's trip to the semifinals is its sixth in a row. Sahuaro saw its season end with a 27-5 record. Seton and Thunderbird join No. 9 Ironwood Ridge and No. 12 Maricopa as the other D-II semifinalists. They earned their berths on Wednesday with victories over top-seed Cienega and No. 4 Flagstaff, respectively.

The Lady Sentinels played a somewhat uneven game in winning handily. Despite 11 turnovers -- seven more than Sahuaro in the first half -- Seton fashioned a 26-18 lead at the half. That lead was 26-12 with 3:21 left in the second quarter and a chance to bury the Lady Cougars at that point went awry.

"We talked about coming out strong and did a good job of that," Seton coach Karen Self said. "When it looked like we would get some distance, we'd let them back in. We did it again a little later."

Seton freshman Sarah Barcello netted 12 of her 20 points in the first half, including two threes that helped open up the 26-12 lead. Sahuaro hung around the first four minutes of the third period, staying within eight points. A late burst of offense from LeeAnne Wirth to conclude the third period improved the lead to 37-22 with a quarter to go. Less than two minute into the final quarter, Seton was up 44-22.

With the return to action this month of sophomore twins Jenn Wirth and LeeAnne Wirth from injuries that kept them out virtually all of January, Seton has gradually looked like the glowing team on paper when the season began Thanksgiving week.  LeeAnne Wirth scored 11 points and Jenn Wirth added eight. Jenn's contribution was more impactful in a different way.

"I was very happy the way Jenn played defending the inside," Self said. "She did a great job on 44 (Sahuaro junior forward Sydney Harden)." Harden is Sahuaro's leading scorer at just more than 16 points a game. Harden finished with four points -- a season low.

THUNDERBIRD 66, SIERRA LINDA 50: The Lady Chiefs ran their winning streak to 17 games with a balanced, methodical triumph over the Lady Bulldogs (27-4). It's the third time in five years Thunderbird has reached the division's final four under current coach Barry Ringel.

Junior point guard Ozahria Fisher piloted Thunderbird's offense with precision at times. Fisher scored 23 points, sinking three treys in the first half. Fisher scored eight of her team's 17 points in the second period that put distance between the teams the rest of the game. She added five rebounds and 10 assists. Three teammates also scored in double figures -- Jazmine Covington 13, Ann Shikles 13 and Brianna Lehew 12. Lehew grabbed 13 rebounds.

Sierra Linda freshman Janae Gonzales finished with a game-high 26 points. Sophomore Kaylah Burrows added 15. Only four players scored for Sierra Linda.