Holly Santman is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Perry High School for AZPreps365.com

PHOENIX—Perry junior Khamil Pierre stepped up to the free throw line with :18 left in the fourth quarter Thursday night. The Pumas led 48-43. The home Xavier crowd was raucous, sound bouncing off the gym walls. Hardly anyone was seated.

Xavier coach Jennifer Gillom raised her arms up and down, exhorting Gator fans to become even louder in hopes of throwing off Pierre.

Pierre only hit one free throw but increased the score to 49-43 and effectively sealed the game for the Pumas.

After one more Xavier possession and another foul, Perry coach Andrew Curtis called a timeout with :03 left on the clock. The timeout seemed serious at first, but the bench erupted into cheers, knowing the Pumas had just accomplished what many thought improbable.

Perry Junior Alyssa Banegas guards Sarah Miller in the hard-fought semifinal game Thursday night. (Holly Santman/AZPreps365)

The No. 11 Pumas had taken out No. 2 Xavier in its home gym, 50-45, and were advancing to the state finals for the first time in program history.

“They doubted us, a lot of people had written us off,” Curtis said. “We have a bunch of girls (that) have really cared for each other and play really hard for each other. We’re not going to wow you, we're not going to shoot deep threes and do all that extra stuff. We just grind.”

So far during the playoffs, Perry has knocked out No. 6 Cibola and No. 3 Westwood. They are one of the lowest seeded teams this season.

As soon as the final buzzer sounded, the Gators returned to the locker room and did not come out again.

"I think that everyone underestimated us,” senior Leah Davis said. “Everyone thought, you know, we're (ranked) 11. So we came and we played for each other instead of for the title.”

As players, coaches and family members lined up for a group photo, Curtis told everyone to listen up. “This is the Perry puzzle," he said. "This is for everybody."

Cheers erupted once again in the Xavier Activity Center, now filled only by Perry fans.

The “Perry puzzle” is the slogan used by the Pumas to show that everyone on the team is working together to make each other better. Curtis credits much of the success of his team to the Perry puzzle.

The first half was largely controlled by the tenacious Gator offense, which allowed Xavier to jump out to a six-point lead in the first quarter before Perry started to work its way back. At halftime Xavier led by only one point, 20-19.

Sophomore Sarah Miller led Xavier with 17 total points, followed closely by sophomore Dominique Nesland with 12.

The momentum shifted after halftime as Xavier racked up more and more fouls, frustrating Gillom on the sideline and parents in the stands. Xavier committed 18 total fouls, including five offensive charge fouls.

“We knew they weren't going to play very deep,” Curtis said. “Our team, the Perry puzzle’s a little bit deeper.”

Junior Jayla Cal readies herself for the next play. Cal may not have had the most points on the night, but she scored two clutch free throws toward the end of the fourth quarter, making Perry's lead over Xavier more comfortable. (Holly Santman/AZPreps365)

In the second half, the Perry offense heated up. Pierre led the Pumas in scoring with 23 points. Kira Patel, a Perry senior guard, scored 14 points on the night.

“(Patel) has been absolutely tremendous,” Curtis said. “It's just a testament (to her) and the loyalty to us and our program that she stuck it out… Our program, it's about everybody and she could have (gone) and got more accolades, but she's staying here because she wants to win.”

Perry will face No. 1 Valley Vista in the state championship game Wednesday at the Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Tipoff is at 6 p.m and will be streamed online at the NFHS Network.

“I think (it’s) just an opportunity for us all to play together again and to accomplish something great with each other,” Davis said.

Curtis hopes the Perry puzzle will come together once again, this time for a state title.

“We're just going to play, and we're going to play our game and do what we do,” he said. “We're going to have to be great to do it.”