Arcadia’s girls basketball team defeated Chaparral 59-37 Tuesday night to move into a tie for first place in the 5A Conference’s East Valley Region.

A win by visiting Chaparral (24-4 overall, 7-1 region) would have clinched the region title, but Arcadia (25-2 overalll, 7-1 region) was in no mood to drop its second game of the season to its rival.

Chaparral defeated Arcadia 50-44 on Jan. 13.

Arcadia played well on both ends of the court. The team had an off night from three-point land but made 49 percent of its two-point shots.

Leading the way for Arcadia were juniors Bryce Nixon (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Taylor Houser (21 points). Nixon used her quickness to consistently get under the net and score.

Nixon and Houser played well off each other, but that’s nothing new.

“We have been playing together since middle school, so that’s where it all started,” Houser said.
“That’s where the chemistry started.” 

Arcadia led 23-18 at halftime, but jumped out to a 37-22 lead near the end of the third quarter.

That lead increased to 42-26 in the fourth quarter.

“I knew I had to really pick it up tonight,” Houser said. “We are going into playoffs and it is getting pretty serious. Something just clicked in me, and I put my whole heart into that game.”

Chaparral and Arcadia will find out on Sunday during the bracket show who their first round playoff opponents will be.