The Camp Verde High School girls basketball team defeated Scottsdale Preparatory Academy 35-29 in the 2A Central region tournament on Thursday, Feb. 7.
Tanna Decker led Camp Verde with 12 points and also accumulated four assists and one steal.
“Part of the reason we came through in the fourth was just a will to win,” Camp Verde coach Mark Showers said.
“Offensively, things were not going in the second half so we had to depend on our defense down the stretch.”
The win was Camp Verde’s seventh consecutiveand improved the Cowboys’ record to 20-8.
Camp Verde finishes the regular season second in the 2A Central region at 9-3 in region and conference
play.
The win was Camp Verde’s second over Scottsdale Prep this season, as the Cowboys defeated the Spartans 55-47 on Feb. 1.
“We also had to take care of the basketball and I thought we did a better job of that in the second half,” Showers said. “That really help put the game away for us in key situations.”
Camp Verde struck first thanks to Maya Hedges and took a 2-0 lead to open the game.
After Scottsdale Prep responded with a 3-pointer, the Cowboys regained the lead off two Tanna Decker free throws.
Cowboys guard Anna Peterson nailed a three of her own to extend Camp Verde’s lead to 7-3.
A 3-pointer from Hope Ontiveros gave the Cowboys a 13-6 lead after one quarter.
Camp Verde extended its lead to double digits in the second quarter and led 22-12 at halftime.
Scottsdale Prep started the third quarter on a 9-1 run, cutting the Cowboys’ lead to 23-21.
Camp Verde responded with back-to-back threes from Anna Peterson and Hope Ontiveros and led 29-25 after three quarters.
The fourth quarter turned into a defensive struggle with neither team finding a rhythm offensively.
The Cowboys were held scoreless for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter as Scottsdale came back to even the score at 29.
Destiny Dowdle broke the tie after an assist from Decker, giving the Cowboys a 31-29 lead with less than two minutes remaining.
After the Cowboys forced a defensive stop, Decker dribbled down the clock before finding Holm to increase the lead to 33-29.
Camp Verde’s defense held strong in the final minute to preserve the 35-29 victory.
Scottsdale Prep trailed for most of the game as Camp Verde’s switch-heavy defense left them flustered.
The Cowboys had defense zoned in on Scottsdale Prep guards Mandi and Morgan Nemire, two of the five top scorers in the region.
“We ran a little junk defense, a triangle and two zone and I thought the kids did a great job tonight,” Showers said.
“They did a great job of containing Mandi and Morgan Nemire on Scottsdale Prep.”
Camp Verde’s defense held the Scottsdale Prep duo to 15 points on 3-21 shooting.
Mandi Nemire led the 2A Central in scoring this season at 17 points per game while Morgan Nemire averaged 11.
Bennett Holm kept multiple Cowboys possessions alive with seven offensive rebounds — 16 in total.
“I thought Bennett was amazing tonight, kid had 16 rebounds and really worked her butt off on both ends,” Showers said. “We know she is going to give us a good defensive effort and rebound the ball every game.”
Camp Verde’s momentum continued as it defeated Glendale Prep 39-32 on Friday, Feb. 8, in the 2A regional championship.
The Cowboys improved to 21-8 and extended their winning streak to eight games.
Decker led all scorers with 18 points to go with five assists and five rebounds.
Ontiveros registered six points for Camp Verde while Shelly Warfield added four points and eight rebounds.
Camp Verde returns to the court on Tuesday, Feb. 12, when the Cowboys host Santa Cruz Valley High School.
“We are getting excited for playoff season,” Showers said. “We keep looking at the rankings for our potential opponent in the play-in and it is all very exciting. You are calling coaches and talking to people about the possibilities,
so the coaches and kids look forward to it.”
Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m.
