By Don Ketchum

The girls’ basketball team from Chandler Seton Catholic has defied conventional logic.

Not long after the school moved up from the old Class 3A to Class 4A Division II, the Lady Sentinels went on to win two state championships in 2010 and 2011.

This year, new divisions were created and Seton was put in the state’s second-highest alignment – Division II. So for a smaller school to have a great deal of success against bigger ones, especially when most of its players were underclassmen, would not be the stuff of logic.

But there the third-seeded Lady Sentinels were on Saturday (Feb. 25), going against top-seeded Peoria High for the Division II title at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.

Seton belied its age, playing calm and collected for the most part and collecting another title trophy with a 52-44 victory.

Seton finished 26-8, Peoria 31-5.

Long-time Seton coach Karen Self paid tribute to Peoria, saying that the Panthers “are an amazing team with a great future.’’

The fact that Seton’s five starters are underclassmen also means that her team has a bright future, right?

“Yeah, I’m pretty happy about that,’’ she said.

“I wasn’t sure what would happen with us this year, maybe more of a rebuilding situation. But those girls who were returning knew about what it would take to get to the state tourney and win.’’

Seton had a balanced effort. Sophomore Julia Barcello scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Sophomore Heather Heild had 14 points and 10 rebounds. And junior Anne Marie Holter had 13 points and five assists.

Barcello scored 10 points in the second half, Holter nine. No player was truly dominant.

“That’s the way it has been every night – somebody different has stepped up,’’ Self said.

Holter said she and her teammates were prepared.

“That’s the thing about Karen. She is an awesome coach. She has a good game plan for us every game,’’ Holter said. “We knew it (this season) was going to be hard. But this team has so much heart . . .’’

She carried the state championship net with her. Asked if she would put it under her pillow, she laughed and said, “I don’t know if I will be able to sleep tonight.’’

Peoria’s Panthers probably had difficulty sleeping as well, but for a different reason.

The team was dazed and confused, then angry over a situation that occurred midway through the third quarter.

Seton called a 30-second timeout and returned to the floor within the allotted time. Peoria stayed in the huddle, with a TV camera hanging in the background, within the boundaries of play. Officials handed the ball to Seton, which went in for an uncontested basket.

That gave Seton a 27-26 lead, and the Sentinels did not trail again.

Peoria coach Leslie Saulsby was fuming, gesturing to Arizona Interscholastic Association officials seated at the scorer’s table.

Seton went on to build a seven-point lead that was cut to two early in the fourth quarter. The Sentinels went on an 8-0 run shortly thereafter to gain control of the game.

Senior forward CeCe Pearl had a strong all-around game for the Panthers with a team-leading 24 points and six rebounds. Senior guard Felicia Foster had nine points and five assists.

Peoria was 19 of 51 from the field (37.3 percent) and did not make a 3-pointer in five attempts.

Saulsby didn’t back down afterward, saying the referees did his team wrong.

“But that is not why we lost the game,’’ he said. “We made mistakes, and Seton played well. I don’t want to take anything from them, rain on their parade, take the jelly out of their doughnut.’’

The AIA claimed that a warning horn sounded with 15 seconds left in the timeout and again when it was over. Saulsby claimed he did not hear them, and that the officials did not come over to his huddle as they normally do. AIA officials disputed that.

“After that happened, I never heard from them again. That was unacceptable. We expect better officiating in any game, not just the state tournament,’’ Saulsby said.

He said he was considering filing a protest, but would speak with his athletic director first.