Thomas Coltrain is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Dobson High School for AZPreps365.com.

The Dobson girls’ basketball team is on a five-game winning streak after beating Basha 78-36 on Feb. 5.

Dobson had a dominant performance against Basha, leading to head coach Henry Bribiescas’ 500th career varsity win. The win came in a game where Dobson forced Basha to turn the ball over seven times in the first period. Basha’s girls’ basketball team fell to 6-12, while Dobson improved to 15-2. The Mustangs now have their sights set on a region title and an opportunity to compete in the Open Divison Tournament.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for for a long time,” Bribiescas said. “For our team to come out and just be explosive as we needed to.”

Dobson got off to an explosive start and ended the first period with a 30-9 lead. The game plan for Dobson was to be aggressive on defense and methodical on offense. 

With under three minutes left in the first period, Dobson applied heavy pressure to Basha. At times Dobson sent multiple defenders to cover Basha’s ballcarrier.

At the first timeout, which was called when the game was 13-5, Dobson seniors Ahdiayh Chee and Isabella Jensen had both already scored their first points of the game. Dobson ended the first period shooting 1-1 from the free-throw line. By the end of the game, they improved to 5-6.

In previous games this season, Dobson has gotten off to slow starts. As the Mustangs routed the Bears, this was not the case. 

“We’ve had rough starts where our ego got to us,” Chee said. “This year is more about being humble and playing how we usually play.”

The second period set off with the same pace as the first. Dobson point guard No. 4 Jaziah Billey had a rebound and an assist in the second period. Billey played tenaciously on defense and outshined her opponents. 

A timeout was called with 5:57 left in the second period when Dobson had a 36-9 lead. Several minutes later, Dobson had a commanding 46-9 lead with three minutes remaining in the period.

With just over four minutes remaining in the third period, Chee and Jensen had combined to score a total of 14 points. Basha’s No. 24, sophomore Rose Bosch, hit a buzzer-beater at the end of the third period to cut Dobson’s lead to 72-26. 

Both teams entered the fourth period with determination and hustle even though it was evident who the eventual winner would be. Dobson No. 10, point guard Marley Perez, had 15 points with just over six minutes left in the game. 

With 6:22 left in the game, Dobson had a powerful 72-30 lead over Basha.

Basha’s hustle did pay off in the fourth period after they forced a turnover with heavy pressure on a Dobson inbound pass. The turnover, which occurred with 4:07 left in the game, forced Dobson to take a timeout and regroup. Despite forcing Dobson to turn the ball over a total of ten times, Basha could not overcome their turnover woes. The Bears turned the ball over a total of 16 times. 

After the timeout, Dobson continued to add to their 76-36 lead. The final timeout of the game was called with 1:59 left and Dobson went on to win 78-36. 

Dobson's final matchup of the regular season before the Open Division Tournament is against Mesa on Feb. 8.

“I’m so ready for the playoffs. I’m excited,” Jensen said.