Ashley Stevens is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Mountain Ridge for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX— A record-breaking season came to an end Wednesday night for Mountain Ridge as the Desert Vista girls basketball team defeated the Mountain Lions, 58-41, to end their progression through the 6A postseason bracket.

Desert Vista pressed Mountain Ridge all game, double-teaming guard Hannah Uhlenhop, forwards Kylie Dennis and Janae Floyd out of the gate. The pressure kept the Mountain Lions out of the paint, creating on multiple back-to-back occasions.

“We knew that was going to be the case," Mountain Ridge head coach Jaime Carreon said. "We tried to practice for it, prepare for it, but unfortunately you just can’t really replicate that at practice."

Desert Vista freshman Dylan Swindle drained a three-pointer to begin the first-round matchup, pushing the Thunder on a 9-0 run in the first quarter. The Mountain Lions managed to only score once on a layup by senior Melody Gonzales, giving the Thunder a 14-2 lead to end the quarter. 

The Mountain Lions came in expecting the Thunder to apply heavy pressure early on, but the offense wasn’t able to adjust to the pace quickly enough. 

“We were ready for them to do a three-two press on us," Gonzales said, "so we just practiced lining people up, either doing four across or having a person in the middle with a couple of us on the side just to get the ball through."

The lead proved to be a steady one throughout the rest of the game as Desert Vista led 28-14 at halftime. 

“Whenever there’s a huge lead like that for the other team, our coach just puts us back in the mindset of, ‘Hey, we gotta get after it,’” Gonzales said. “Especially him telling us, ‘This could be your last game,’ so that really motivates us.”

Mountain Ridge, coming off a win against Copper Canyon in the play-in game last Thursday, was able to cushion its forced turnovers through the shooting hands of senior Kylie Dennis and Uhlenhop. 

The Mountain Lion offense accumulated just 14 points of the 41 scored against the Thunder defense from their starters consisting of Uhlenhop and Dennis, leaving the rest of the shooting to the bench. 

“I think it was just a matter of us calming down and making better decisions,” Carreon expressed. “It’s hard when a team like that is that aggressive, that athletic, and that fast. I commend their team for how well they played.”

Uhlenhop tallied just five points, shooting 1-for-9 from the field with two free throws made. 

Mountain Ridge’s three-point record holder, junior guard Alyssa Fraulino, shot just two-for-five from downtown, sinking just one three-pointer. 

The Thunder entered the matchup ranked fifth in the playoff bracket, and they showed it against the twelfth ranked seed Mountain Lions, never letting the girls come within reaching distance. 

Even up by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter, Desert Vista was still committed to pressing Mountain Ridge as much as possible. The Thunder defense clamped up each Mountain Lion that possessed the ball, making it nearly impossible for Mountain Ridge to get a shot off.

When pressure wasn’t applied as heavily and the Mountain Lions were able to move the ball around the paint, the Desert Vista defense had exhausted the Mountain Lion shooters, causing them to miss layups and easy two-pointers.

“We’ve had an amazing season. I’m proud of what we’ve done, but the pressure was too much for us,” Dennis said after the game. 

The Mountain Lions hosted their first playoff game since the 2006-2007 season, finishing the season with an overall record of 15-3.

With five seniors on his roster this season, Carreon is looking forward to seeing how they grow as people off the court. 

“This is not the end for us,” Carreon said. ”To me they’re my second family and I'll never forget them for helping me build this program.”

Carreon arrived in Glendale to coach the Mountain Ridge girls basketball team four years ago, when the now-senior class were freshmen. 

“When other people outside of our varsity team say ‘That group looks like a family and I want to be a part of it, it's because of them,” Carreon said. “They’ve helped me set the bar of what a team and a family is supposed to be like. I could not be more grateful for them and I love them so much.”

“They’re my second family,” Dennis said. “I’ve just had such an amazing four years with every single one of them. Our chemistry is just so incredible. I’m going to be really sad leaving them.” 

A couple of the seniors have a bright future despite their high school playing careers being over. Dennis is looking forward to attending college in Utah, while potentially continuing her basketball career while pursuing a degree in nursing. Meanwhile, senior Melody Gonzales has plans of attending Arizona State University, obtaining a degree in Political Science.