Lexy Cancelmi
ASU Student Journalist

Chaparral defeats Arcadia 54-53

February 6, 2018 by Lexy Cancelmi, Arizona State University


The Chaparral Firebirds and Arcadia Titans knew going into Tuesday's game that one team would no longer have a winning streak. The Firebirds had home court advantage, and left their gym with an 11-game streak.

Arcadia's ended at seven.

The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 12, when the Firebirds defeated Arcadia 54-42.

The Firebirds had played the night before and won, so fatigue could have been an issue. But both teams came out with energy.

Summer Menke scored nine of Chaparral's first 15 points. But three-pointers by Arcadia's Cass Campbell, Bryce Nixon and Dylan Watkiss cut the Chaparral lead to 23-22.  The second quarter was Chaparral's lowest scoring of the night with eight points.

The Firebirds hit five three-pointers in the third quarter, two from Anna Ostlie. Ariana Banuelos, Jess Finney, and Maddie Vick also hit threes.  The Titans were in the hunt for the win with Campbell making her third three-point shot of the evening as well. 

It was 44-35 going into the fourth quarter and the Titans knew they had eight minutes left to figure out how to win. They made it close.

Arcadia hit back-to-back-to-back three pointers, putting them down by four with only 25 seconds left. 

The Firebirds were continuously fouling the Titans until the end of the game, giving them points from free throws, but it was not enough for Arcadia.

"We didn't get off to a good offensive start and I think that's what really hurt us for the outcome of this game," said Arcadia cozch Ives Chavez. "The last time we played this team it didn't go our way when we played, so we tried to just strategically fix some of the things we do well, and we did some but ultimately it came down to our bad offensive start."

The Firebirds are excited they get to continue their win streak and were excited for the game knowing it was a big one.

"We were so hype at the beginning of the game but knew we had to keep our composure and almost calm down if we wanted to get another big win like we did last night," Menke said.  

Firebirds Head coach Brian Porth was nothing short of proud of his team's win and credits senior leadership for coming together to ultimately get the job done. "We were in foul trouble early in the game with Maddie Vick and the girls really held it together and made it happen when we were in trouble," Porth said. 

Porth also knows there is a lot that goes into preparing for playing a good team like Arcadia. "There's a lot of details going into a game like this, they do a lot of things well but we're at our best defensively and our communication on the court is great," he said. 

The first round of playoffs begins next Wednesday for the Firebirds.