The tradition of excellence in basketball continues for the girls from Chandler Valley Christian.

The Trojans, the state champions in old Class 2A in 2011 and 2010, look to be a top contender in Division III in the 2013-14 season.

They were the No. 1 team in power points at the start of the week and faced host Fountain Hills, the No. 4 team, on Tuesday night (Jan. 14). Both teams had one loss between them as the game began, Valley Christian at 16-0 and Fountain Hills at 12-1. Valley Christian overcame a slow start and pulled away for a 58-46 victory.

Fountain Hills jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, clung to a 10-9 advantage entering the second quarter and then watched Valley Christian establish control with an aggressive defense and three 3-pointers shortly before halftime.

In the second half, Valley Christian seldom allowed Fountain Hills to get second shots after misses, and that piece of the puzzle was a key ingredient, according to Valley Christian coach Scott Timmer.

“We found our pace, the up-tempo game which we like to play,’’ Timmer said. “Fountain Hills also is a good team and they play the up-tempo game about as well as any team we’ve played other than Page.’’

Fountain Hills was playing without one of its top players, sophomore Sierra Jarriel, who had suffered a recent hip injury.

The Falcons relied on the play of junior guard Brooke Yost and senior forward Natalie Stilwell. Yost was all over the floor, scoring 21 points, including three 3-pointers, and remained aggressive down the stretch despite the fact she had four fouls. Stilwell scored 12 points.

Timmer’s team is deep and young. He has three freshmen who see a lot of playing time and make key contributions.

One of the freshmen is wing player Bethany Wolph, who led the Trojans with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. Sophomore Mara Kemmer also had a strong all-around game with 12 points, including some putbacks at the offensive end.

Valley Christian likes to rely on long-range shots, and converted seven of those.