Cactus Shadows open state playoffs
Marc Buckhout ~ Managing Editor ~ 2/17/2010

The Cactus Shadows girls basketball team will attempt to keep its run of four consecutive state semifinal appearances alive at 7 p.m. Friday when the No. 3 Falcons take on Tuesday’s winner of No. 6 Cienega (22-3) vs. No. 11 Moon Valley (14-10).
Assuming the Falcons took care of business in their opening round matchup against No. 14 Dysart (15-13) (results unavailable at press time) they would put themselves in position for a fifth consecutive trip to the 4A Div-I state semifinals with a win at home in the quarterfinals.
The 4A Desert Sky champion Falcons (20-6) rolled into the postseason with an 11-1 mark since the start of 2010 while Dysart is 7-4 in 2010.
The Falcons defense has been the story during their run as Cactus Shadows has held nine of their 11 opponents to 43 points or less in 2010.
While Cactus Shadows defeated Moon Valley earlier this season, 53-51, in late November, they likely will see a Cienega team that only lost one game all season to a 4A Div-I opponent. That defeat came to the tournament’s No. 7 seed, Sahuaro, 57-56 in the regular season finale.
Overall Cienega went 4-1 this season against 4A Div-I state tournament teams, earning wins against No. 10 Marana, No. 12 Canyon del Oro, No. 15 Sabino and No. 16 Catalina Foothills.
Cactus Shadows on the other hand was a perfect 6-0 against teams that make up the 4A Div-I bracket with a pair of wins against both No. 9 Apache Junction and No. 13 Saguaro while also knocking off No. 8 Peoria and No. 11 Moon Valley.
Although the Falcons have spent much of the season playing an up-tempo game, forcing the issue with their pressure defense that might be playing into the strength of a Cienega team that average 59 points per game in the regular season. By comparison the Falcons averaged 50.
The state semifinals will take place at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 25 at Jobing.com Arena. The 4A Div-I state championship will take place at 2 p.m. Feb. 27 at Jobing.com Arena. While they’ve made it to the semifinals each of the past four seasons Cactus Shadows has never played for the 4A Div-I state championship.
5A Div-II
The Boulder Creek girls basketball team (11-11) went into Tuesday’s final game of the regular season, a home contest against Valley Vista (17-5), clinging to the No. 16 spot in the 5A Div-II power ratings.
If the Jaguars were able to hold their one point edge against Lake Havasu and Betty Fairfax to claim the final state tournament bid they would open up the 5A Div-II state tournament at No. 1 Tolleson (24-4) on Feb. 25.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The Boulder Creek Jaguars clinched back-to-back Northwest Region titles with a 77-54 win over Deer Valley on Feb. 9. From there the only drama for the 23-2 Jaguars was whether they could go undefeated in region.
In dramatic fashion Boulder Creek kept that hope alive Friday with a 58-56 win over Willow Canyon, a team the Jaguars beat 74-42 on Dec. 14.
On senior night Ryan Crane pushed the team to 11-0 in league play, as the Jaguars overcame a horrific shooting night (32 percent) when sophomore Weston Newell hit Crane with a pass just in time for the guard to get up a last second runner that kissed off the backboard and dropped in for the game winner.
On Tuesday Boulder Creek closed the regular season at Valley Vista (10-14) looking to cap a perfect 12-0 region run and extend their winning streak on the season to 16 as they look toward the 5A Div-II state tournament.
With a win the Jaguars could move into the No. 2 seed for the state tournament. With a loss they would stay at No. 3.
As of Tuesday’s press time the No. 2 seed would draw No. 15 Betty Fairfax (10-15) while the No. 3 seed would draw No. 14 Perry (15-12). Regardless of their seed the Jaguars will be at home for a 7 p.m. first round playoff game on Feb. 25. With a win they would advance to the quarterfinals, also at home, at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27.
For final state tournament bracket information go to www.aia365.com.