It wouldn't be far-fetched to see Valley Vista and Hamilton six weeks from now playing for the 6A girls basketball title.

Afterall the Monsoon and Huskies, who entered play unbeaten in power-ranking games this season, have combined to win the last four big-school crowns - two apiece.

Their regular-season matchup Thursday night was typical of their other meetings the last four seasons with No. 3 Valley Vista avenging a loss last year on its home floor with a 60-57 triumph over the No. 2 Huskies at Dale Hancock Gymnasium.

Valley Vista (13-3 overall, 8-0 in power-ranking games), down 49-46 with just more than four  minutes to play, got the leadership in the clutch it needed from sophomore standout guard Jennah Isai.

"It's nice having her back," Valley Vista coach Rachel Matakas said. "She has such a high IQ. She's a blessing to coach. She's so competitive, and when she came back in kept her poise."

Isai, who just returned to fulltime action as the calender turned to January recovering from a late spring knee injury, missed the final four minutes of the third period and four minutes of the fourth with four fouls. 

All Isai did in the final four minutes was score 12 points (she finished with 19) and handle the ball for a turnover-free surge to the finish. Isai sank 10 of 11 free throws and gave the Monsoon the lead for good with a three-point play - a give-and-go layup and free throw making it 50-49 at the 2:47 mark.

Hamilton (13-5, 9-1 prg) fell back 57-51 with 45 seconds to go while Isai made a living at the free-throw line, but put heat the heat on Valley Vista to the end. The sixth three of the game by Huskies' guard Graciela Roybal (team-high (20 points) made it 57-54. After Isai made one of two free throws with 13 seconds to go, the Huskies Tori Davis answered with a trey. Hamilton called time, down 58-57 with 6.8 seconds to go.

The Huskies were forced to foul after the inbounds pass and the game's final points were a pair of free throws by reserve guard Sophie Martinez with five seconds left. Hamilton was unable to get off any kind of shot before time expired.

Piror to the final quarter Valley Vista rode the play of junior forward Marisa Davis. The Monsoon forged a 45-44 lead after three quarters with Davis owning the paint. Davis scored a game-high 25 points. Her eight, third-quarter points helped push Valley Vista to the game's largest lead -- 39-30 - with 4:42 left in the quarter.

Davis didn't score in the final quarter, but her work the first three quarters was satisfying enough for Matakas.

"Our plan was to attack inside," Matakas said. "It worked. if it wouldn't have we have players who can shoot from outside. Pick your poison."

Valley Vista shot better than 60 percent in the first half with only three of 13 field goals from the perimeter.

"Our execution on defense was not there," Hamilton coach Trevor Neider said. "We couldn't keep Marisa from getting good looks. We didn't shoot well and took some bad shots at the end. They outplayed us and deserved to win."