Phoenix Christian failed to compete in the postseason last year.

It is obvious the Cougars haven’t forgotten that this year.

It is a fired-up team playing with a sense of urgency that stepped up Monday and dominated Gilbert Academy on the road 85-15.

“I switched the reverse psychology a little bit instead of aggressive in offense smart on defense I did aggressive in offense and on defense,” said coach Tara Poovey.

Those words didn’t fall on deaf ears. The Cougars set the tone from the tip-off with an aggressive defense that had 20 steals in the first half to build a 44-4 lead.

Keeping the foot on the gas, the Cougars came out after halftime and set a record for the most points scored in a game this season.

“It does not matter who they play, I want them to bring that consistency every time,” said Poovey.

It is with a mindset of consistency and ball movement that Poovey is approaching the regional tournament.

The Cougars (13-5) will face someone they know well, Leading Edge Academy – Gilbert, which beat the Cougars twice in the regular season.

As the No.2 seed in the conference, the Spartans will play on their undefeated home court Tuesday.

“Undefeated, we can play in the street, we can play in the park wherever it is wherever we have to play as long as there is the ref, a scoreboard and coach is coaching us, I'm not worried about it,” said senior Mawe Rivero.

“The more time you play a team the harder it is to beat them because you see them so much,” said Poovey. “The first thing I said in post game tonight was that they focus on the task at hand, don’t worry about what’s in the past and don’t have any fear of the future.”