Coconino's Katrina Copley (23) drives on the Paradise Valley defense during a game last month. (Kelli Tresgallo/Arizona Daily Sun, file)
Coconino's Marissa Copley, 14, is closely followed by Paradise Valley's Vanessa Hernandez, as she crosses the court during game action on Tuesday at Coconino High School. (Kelli Tresgallo/Arizona Daily Sun)
Coconino's Shania Yazzie is closely followed by Paradise Valley's Kimberly Wondra, 21, as she approaches the basket during game action on Tuesday at Coconino High School. (Kelli Tresgallo/Arizona Daily Sun)
Tuesday night’s game between the Coconino High School Panthers and the Paradise Valley High School Trojans was a chaotic, back-and-forth affair, with the Panthers emerging on top for a 63-49 victory.
Finding an effective defense was a challenge for the Panthers. Head coach Jen Parker chose to open the game with a man-to-man defense that quickly morphed into a 2-3 zone. Paradise Valley also ran a man-to-man defense, which pressured Coconino’s offense for the first half of the game.
At halftime, it was a close game at 27-21 and some changes needed to be made if either team wanted the upper hand.
“There was a lot of energy in locker room at halftime,” Parker said. “We told them to take that energy and get it out on the court, because right now there’s more energy in this locker room than we saw in the first half.”
The second half of the game was played at a much different pace and it seemed as the Panthers found their groove. A trio of Panthers wound up scoring in double digits, with juniors Shania Yazzie and Alena Ohumukini both totalling 10 while sophomore scoring leader Marissa Copley tallied 18 to lead the way again.
While three scored in double digits, Coconino spread out the attack overall with seven of its 12 players grabbing points. Meanwhile, Paradise Valley’s box score became a polar opposite. Junior Kimberly Wondra took the game into her own hands and scored 30 of the Trojans’ 49 points.
The Panthers also managed to do a great job with offensive rebounding. Ohumukini managed to grab 12 rebounds for a double-double and senior Riley Hannemann grabbed nine boards, with eight coming on the offensive glass.
“We’re told to use our bodies,” Ohumukini said.
“Since we are such a small team, we need to box people out and use our bodies.”
The third quarter was the decider for the game. Copley came alive offensively, and the man-to-man defense slowed down the Paradise Valley offense. The Panthers jumped ahead 45-34 at the end of the third and never looked back.
“Overall, we did OK. It felt very chaotic at times and out of control,” Parker said. “There were a lot of loose balls and people diving everywhere and we like to be a little more controlled than that.”
The Panthers moved to 4-1 on the season and look forward to the Pepsi Holiday Tournament. Coconino opens with Valley Christian at 4 p.m. Thursday at Flagstaff High School.
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