Seton Catholic girls basketball has produced 10 state titles and three times have threepeated.

Their bid for a fourpeat Saturday ended after going toe-to-toe for a half with top-seed Shadow Mountain.

The Matadors pulled away quickly in the third quarter from a halftime tie and went on to a 54-31 victory over No. 2 Seton at Gila River Arena. 

Shadow Mountain's title is its second. The other was achieved in 2010. They Matadors extended their current win streak to 14 games, outscoring Seton, 38-15, in the second half. They will return all of their top six players - five juniors and one senior next year. 

Seton ended up 24-7 for the season and concluded the decade with seven titles and a runner-up in 10 chances.

"At halftime we had a mental and heart check," Shadow Mountain coach Erica Farnsworth said. "We didn't play with the energy we can in the first half, and had to dig deeper. The second half you saw what we can do with the energy I'm used to seeing."

Shadow Mountain (28-3), which reached the final four last year and had an easy time in the semis dispatching No. 4 Sahuaro, met a challenge after the opening half.

The game was as even on the stat sheet as it was on the scoreboard (16-16) in the opening half. But an 8-0 run the first three minutes of the third period put Seton behind the eight-ball to the bigger, taller and quicker  Matadors.

Six quick points by Dyamond Butler-Worley (12 points) on two free throws and two buckets and a layup by Zhane Jordan (12 points) were the pieces of the run. Shadow Mountain had a slight rebounding edge at halftime and pounded the boards more in the second. A 23-9 scoring advantage for the Matadors in the third period pushed the lead to 39-25. Seton wasn't able to close the lead under 12 the rest of the way.

Shadow Mountain began hitting its stride once the calendar turned to January with the addition of transfers Heavenly Greer and Jordan in late December. The duo played slightly more than half the year and added 24 points and 12 rebounds per game combined. Greer finished with nine points in the title game and veteran Senya Rabouin added 10 points. Kayla Pettet chipped in 10 points off the bench - eight in the second half.

"We rode the first half on a lot of emotion and drive," Seton coach Karen Self said. "We just didn't have the length. We boxed out and they reached over us. They have 6-3 and we have 5-10...."

"We fought a good fight."

Seton was led by senior McKenna Klecker with 14 points and on the boards by Amanda Barcello with seven rebounds.

Jordan and Greer have brought 24 points and 12 rebounds per game between them since they became eligible Dec. 20.

4A BOYS

SHADOW MOUNTAIN 64, DEER VALLEY 38: After a close call last year in gaining a threepeat, MIke Bibby's squad took care of things early and returned to blowout mode in earning a fourpeat.

It's the fifth title in six years for Shadow Mountain (26-3). Deer Valley finished 25-6 and didn't have a chance from the getgo with the Matadors opening up a big lead..

Shadow Mountain  bolted to a 7-0 lead in the first couple minutes. The Matadors led 13-5 after a quarter and 33-17 at intermission. They began the third quarter in a four-corner set and took 1:40 off the clock before attempting their first shot.

Ultimately Shadow went on a 12-0 run the first four minutes of the period with Jaelen House and Shemar Morrow teaming up for 10 of the 12 points and a 45-17 advantage.

Shadow engaged a running clock with 6:40 left to play with a 62-31 lead. House closed his career with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Christian Allen added nine points -- all in the first half. Morrow chipped in eight points and seven rebounds. Jovan Blacksher sat up half of the first half with three fouls and tallied four points.

Deer Valley workhorse Brandon Savage led the Skyhawks with 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.