(Andy Morales/AZPreps365.com)

 

No. 2 Pueblo beat No. 3 Flagstaff 52-32 Friday afternoon to advance to the 4A state championship game scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24 at the Grand Canyon University Arena. A score like 52-32 may seem like an offensive victory but it was far from it. Defensive “mojo” pulled the Warriors through.

Both teams struggled from the field with Flagstaff (29-3) shooting 13-46 (28.3) in the game and Pueblo (30-2) shooting 22-65 (33.8), but those numbers are kind with both teams missing their first six shots and turning the ball over twice each before Lourdes Guedes-Pereira hit a bucket with 5:55 on the clock to give Pueblo a 2-0 lead.

The Warriors would eventually build a 26-16 lead with 2:10 left in the first half but Flagstaff closed the half out on a 7-0 run and then hit a 3-pointer in the opening moments of the third quarter to tie things up at 26-26.

“I told them to look at how they were playing and not be satisfied,” said Pueblo head coach Ismael Galindo. “Take advantage of turnovers and run how we run.”

That’s when the “mojo” kicked in.

“We knew a little bit about them coming in,” explained senior guard Ilyssa Galindo. “We knew who their shooters were and we started to cover on our press. We call it our ‘mojo’ because it leads to points for us. “

The “mojo” led to 19 turnovers by Flagstaff in the second half and only six points in the final 15 minutes of the game. By game’s end, the Eagles had 30 turnovers compared to 13 by the Warriors.

“The funny thing is, we haven’t done anything yet,” coach Galindo said. “They don’t call Seton Catholic the “Sentinels” for nothing.

Top-seeded Seton Catholic has won three of the last four state championships and nine overall and the Sentinels are facing No. 4 Shadow Mountain in the other 4A semifinal game.

Galindo finished with a game-high 12 points, Jasmine Belt had 10, Nysa Urena finished with nine, Alba Urena had seven and Mariah Clark had six for Pueblo. Summer Fox had six steals and Clark had eight rebounds.

Emma Doskicz had nine points to lead Flagstaff and Ashley Edison finished with seven. Monique Ware had nine rebounds for the Eagles.