Mesa Mtn. View wins, Dobson falls in Sweet 16 girls semis
December 2, 2011 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
Mesa Mountain View clung to an early lead and held it pretty much all the way Friday night in earning itself a berth in the title game of the La Jolla Country Day Sweet Sixteen girls basketball tournament in La Jolla, Calif.
Arnecia Hawkins scored 14 points and Rene Coggins added 13 as Mountain View edged Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 47-41. Mountain View faces La Jolla Country Day Saturday night a 8 p.m. (Arizona time) for the title.
"We're ecstatic," Mountain View coach Henry Bribiescas said. "Starting to learn to get to championshipo games is good and hopefully it translates later in the season."
Mountain View (6-0) led at the end of every quarter and took a 22-18 lead to intermission. The lead reached seven after three periods. The Toros continued to learn how to cope with a shot clock that schools in California routinely play with and managed to hang on for the win. The Toros had a nine-point lead with four minutes left and staved off Archbishop Mitty with free-throw shooting. Coggins made 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to preserve the victory.
In the other semifinal, Dobson endured a tough first half and couldn't recover in its battle with tournament host La Jolla Country Day. La Jolla Country Day bulit a double-digit lead from the get-go that it wouldn't relinquish and defeated Dobson, 75-45,
"They got up on with a big first half," Dobson coach Tyler Dumas said. "We played them pretty even in the second half, but they were too tough for us. They have three Division I caliber players."
Katherine Hamilton led Dobson (6-3) with 17 points and Miyah Leith added 16. Dobson plays Archbiship Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) in the third-place game on Saturday at 6:15 p.m. (Arizona time).