Taylor Corlew is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism Masters student assigned to cover Mountain Pointe for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX - In the second round of the Division 3A state championship, the Bourgade Catholic girls basketball team held homecourt against the Window Rock Fighting Scouts, 51-47. Window Rock, the No. 9 seed, traveled four-and-a-half hours to Phoenix to take on the eighth-seeded Golden Eagles. 

Window Rock began the game by scoring an immediate layup out of the jump ball. The favor was quickly returned by junior guard, Alexis Cardenas. 

The Golden Eagles answered by proceeding to embark on a 9-0 run, resulting in a Window Rock timeout to halt the momentum. 

The timeout proved to be timely as Window Rock scored five unanswered points coming out of the timeout. 

The second quarter was the worst offensive quarter of the game for Window Rock, with the Fighting Scouts scoring their first point of the period with 4:31 remaining on a split pair of free throws. They would score their first field goal of the quarter shortly thereafter with 3:00 remaining in the half. 

Window Rock’s late second-quarter momentum propelled them to their first lead of the half, which they would hold until the start of the fourth quarter. 

Bourgade was led to victory by Jalynn Avila, the team's leading scorer and rebounder. Avila finished the game matching her season points-per-game average with 14 and exceeding her rebound average of 10.8 with a commanding 17 boards. 

“Man, that girl’s been doing that all season,” Bourgade Catholic coach Sergio Gonzalez said. “She’s been underrated all season. We had to fight for her to get the recognition she deserves this season. She's had multiple 20 rebound games, that's what she does.”

The theme of Friday night's game for Bourgade was both the offensive glass and the second-chance points that came as a result. Tht was mainly due to Avila’s persistence of both the offensive and defensive glass. 

The Fighting Scouts were led in scoring by senior guard Robey Talkalai, who contributed 12 points, and sophomore guard Melicia Nelson, who poured in 18 points of her own. 

The second half was a back-and-forth slugfest, with each team fighting to attain and keep the lead. But turnovers continued to plague Window Rock as Bourgade ramped up its defensive pressure in the closing minutes of the game. 

Avila caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of her 14 points. The offensive spark helped the Golden Eagles power past Window Rock.

The Golden eagles forced two straight crucial turnovers, both of which resulted in uncontested layups. A timely 7-0 run by Bourgade was ultimately the game’s deciding factor, as Window Rock just couldn’t close the gap. : The Window Rock Fighting Scouts shoot warm up free throws minutes ahead of their matchup against Bourgade Catholic. (Taylor Corlew/ AZPrep365)

“Honestly, it was a great season,” Window Rock coach Gabrielle Whitney said. “The girls were great, you know. This being my first year coaching and coming this far. Overall, it was just a great season. These girls are fun, and I'm looking forward to the future.”

The Golden Eagles (19-4, 10-0) will face the 16-seed Show Low Cougars on Monday at 7 p.. 

“We’ve got to clean up our offense, our offense is all over the place right now,” Gonzalez said. “We got to clean it up fast and quick. We’ve only got one day of practice and we’re off to the races after that.”