PHOENIX — Kourtney Bitselley scored 24 points and hit five 3-pointers, Naomi James added 11 points and No. 1-seeded Window Rock advanced to the 3A state finals with a 50-42 win over No. 4 Alchesay on Friday night.

“I know Alchesay always has the big crowd, so that was tough to overcome," said Bitselley, who converted nine of her 13 shots. "But we just blocked them out and focused on each other.”

More than 4,800 fans attended the semifinal at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. 

The teams were tied 32-32 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Fighting Scouts (21-9, 7-5 3A North) outscored their rival 18-10 over the final eight minutes to seal the deal.

“These girls played so hard,” Window Rock coach Gabrielle Whitney said. “They deserved it. But it’s not over yet. We still have one game tomorrow.”

The Window Rock defense forced 26 turnovers by Alchesay, which shot just 29.2% on the evening (14-48), including 6 of 15 from beyond the arc. The Fighting Scouts scored 25 points off those turnovers.

Alchesay (22-11, 6-4 3A East) never led in the contest.

Kylie Mansfield scored 17 points off 5 of 15 shooting, including five 3-pointers for the Falcons.

Window Rock awaits the winner of the No. 3 Yuma Catholic-No. 2 Page game, with the 3A finals set for Saturday, Feb. 28, at 1:30 p.m.

Page sets state record

Page High set a new girls basketball state title appearance record and withstood a 32-point effort from Yuma Catholic’s Amelia Borrallo to advance to Saturday’s 3A final with a 57-48 victory.

 

“It’s about the effort and finishing the games,” Page coach Celeste Claw said. "We knew we wanted to be here to win, and they showed it tonight. They finished out the fourth quarter very well.”

With 5:07 remaining, the game was tied at 42-42 after a spin move by Borrallo for a lay in. 

But Yuma Catholic (23-7), which was chasing its first state title appearance, didn’t score again until 1:10 was on the clock. Page converted its free throws down the stretch and went 12 from 14 from the charity stripe in the game. 

Tayla Franklin and Trece Tsingine (10 rebounds) led Page with 17 points apiece. The victory improved Page’s record to 16-14 and clinched a 19th state championship appearance for the program.

 “I feel it’s a flashback,” said Claw about facing Window Rock in the title game for the second time in three years. “We played them two years ago when they had Melecia Nelson. Window Rock is a great team. We were (2-1) against them in region time (two years ago), but we haven’t faced them since. So I’m actually really excited for this game."  

azpreps365's Jose Garcia contributed to this article. 

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.