Lauren Green is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism master's student assigned to cover Chandler for AZPreps365.com

 

PHOENIX — In the first round of the 6A state championship playoffs, Chandler came up short against one of the top teams in the state, No.2 Xavier, 68-35.

Xavier’s intense full-court pressure came together fluidly and ultimately put a stop to any momentum Chandler had on Wednesday night’s game.

In their third matchup of the year, the Wolves continually performed better each time they battled the Gators as they became more familiar with the team. Their final matchup showed potential from that familiarity. Despite this playoff elimination, Chandler saw new possibilities in their mindset that arose prior to the game.

Before the game, Chandler coach AJ Greenough felt his team could finally play free tonight — and they did. They played hard and battled like their true selves before the Gators commanded a large authority of the game in the second half.

The Wolves started off the first quarter with startling defense on the Gators causing missed field goals and bad shot selection for Xavier. Once Xavier coach Jennifer Gillom caught sight of this for long enough, she directed her team to start capitalizing off their full-court defensive pressure — a perfected Gator tactic that essentially won the game for Xavier.

 Trailing Xavier 12-8 heading into the second quarter, the Wolves continued to fight — something the former WNBA player and coach knew they were capable of before their meetup.

“I told everybody I did not want to play Chandler tonight because I knew that they were not a 14th-ranked team, “coach Gillom said. “They’re in the top ten. They are a good team.”

These traits were easily seen at the beginning of the second quarter when senior guard Stasia Duque had a steal into a layup as well as an and-one in back-to-back possessions.

“I honestly feel like every time I play on the court, I play it like it's my last game,” Duque said. “I have to give it my all.”

Senior guard Stasia Duque finished a shot from beyond-the-arc trying to gain traction for the Wolves. (Lauren Green photo / AZPreps365)

Duque notched 10 points for the night but her polished game and grit on the floor translated to many of Chandler’s runs throughout the game. Leading the team in scoring was junior guard Autumn Rodriguez with 14 points. Six of them came off back-to-back shots from beyond the arc in the second half.

At halftime Chandler trailed by seven, 2-17. This was the closest they’d been to the Gators all season at the half. The Wolves committed 16 turnovers by this time, but they were still in reach of the game due to their defense.

At the half, coach Greenough wanted the Wolves to embrace their identity without it becoming tainted from playing such a high-ranked team.

Into the second half, the Gators snapped out of any issues they were facing and took the game into their own hands.

Xavier’s full-court presses became impenetrable for the Wolves. Soon, turnovers started occurring left and right as Chandler couldn’t get the ball inbounded or across the court.

When the Wolves managed to break Xavier’s relentless press, it was at a pace to run and score every time in a frantic motion. The Gators ultimately shut Chandler off from executing any offense when they were able to surpass their press.

“I think as soon as stuff started to get a little sideways for us, all those emotions and all those hard fights just kind of washed over them and just took over the game,” coach Greenough said.

Coach AJ Greenough calls a timeout to keep his team grounded against Xavier's tough defensive pressure. (Lauren Green photo / AZPreps365)

Eventually, most Chandler turnovers began to translate to Gator points on the board, and they quickly added up. Xavier not only caused havoc on it full-court press, but the Gators were also able to disrupt the Wolves’ inbound plays, too.

With a team with little playoff experience, coach Greenough is proud of the fight that his girls put up. He looks forward to the future of next season as this year showed true promise for what’s to come next for Chandler girls basketball.

“I really think that if we can clean up some stuff this summer, next year, this is going to be a dogfight,” coach Greenough said.