Not too happy with the offense, but the defense got a thumbs up Monday afternoon from Pinnacle girls basketball coach Troy Wiese.

Limiting two of Dobson's top scorers to half their season averages combined, the Pioneers advanced to  the Division I semifinals with a 55-43 win over Dobson at ASU's Wells Fargo Arena.

Pinnacle (31-2), the No. 3 seed, moves on to the semifinals and  faces Highland (32-2), a 62-55 winner over Mountain Pointe (26-6) in a later quarterfinal. Highland and Pinnacle square off Thursday (Feb. 21) at 2:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo. Dobson closed the season with a 22-7 record.

Pinnacle got balanced scoring and was able to build a double-digit lead most of the game with 3-point shooting and defense. Leading the Pioneers were Syndey Wiese and Britta Nordstrom with 13 points each and Kenna McDavis with 12. Davis points came on four 3-pointers. Pinnacle maded 8 threes in the game to just three for Dobson, which often relies on guards  Miyah Leith and Tori Lloyd to score from the perimeter. They combined for just 11 points after averaging 26 between them a game for the year.

Troy Wiese used his taller players to tend to Lloyd and Leith. They were up to the task.

"The girls we used are tall 6-foot, 6-1," Wiese said of Madie Rinehart, Nordstrom, daughter Sydney and McDavis. "They are athletic and quick enough to defend shooters."

Lloyd led Dobson in scoring, averaging 13.1 points. She finished Monday's game with three points -- a 3 with 4:38 left in the game. Leith had eight points. Only two field goals, both in the first half.

Senior Katherine Hamilton, a four-year standout for coach Tyler Dumas and the Lady Mustangs, finished with a team-high 13 points and will continue her basketball career this fall at San Diego.

Pinnacle made 11 of 23 shots from the field in the first half, including five threes. Dobson didn't connect on a 3 until the third period. McDavis, Sydney Wiese, Danielle Bender and Rinehart all  scored from beyond the arc for Pinnacle.

The only downside to Pinnacle's win Monday --  27 turnover -- some due to Dobson's quickness and scrapiness

"We need to clean some of that up the next couple days," Troy Wiese said. "Our defense won it for us tonight."

HIGHLAND 62, MOUNTAIN POINTE 55: Highland used a torrid shooting night from senior Rebecca Rudd and held off stubborm Mountain Pointe in the third of four quarterfinal games at Wells Fargo. It was Highland's 17th win in a row dating back to late December.

Rudd scored a season- and career-high 29 points. She made nine shots in a row from the first period through third, including three threes in the first half that helped put the Lady Hawks in charge by 15 at haflftime and by 19 entering the final quarter.

"That's what (Rudd) is capable of doing and tonight was a great time for her to do it," Highland coach Miner Webster said. "I was disappointed with the way we handled their pressure in the last quarter. That's something we have to clean up."

Mountain Pointe, which scored 28 points the first three periods, piled up 27 in the final period. Senior Caitlin Hetrick scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to help lead the Lady Pride's comeback. Junior Kaylah Lupoe added 14 points and Maddy Sulka chipped in with nine. Mountain Pointe coach Trevor Neider will return a good nucleus from this 26-6 club, including Lupoe, Sulka and reserves Ashle Burns, Tilasha Okey and Monay Mariscal. 

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