By Don Ketchum

In the eyes of Phoenix Thunderbird girls basketball coach Barry Ringel, it was somewhat surprising to see Goodyear Desert Edge as the No. 12 seed in the Class 4A Division II girls basketball tournament that began on Tuesday (Feb. 15).

“They won eight in a row, so we knew they would come in and battle us,’’ Ringel said.

The battle was a bit one-sided, however, as Ringel’s fifth-seeded team earned a 58-42 victory at Thunderbird.

The Chiefs advance to the next round on Friday (Feb. 18) against No. 4 Page, which defeated No. 13 seed Douglas on Tuesday night at Page.

That means a long road trip to Page awaits Thunderbird (22-6). Page defeated Thunderbird 60-45 at Thunderbird on Jan. 15.

“Whoever we play, we tell the players, “Don’t look at the number (seeding) in front of the other team.’ We just worry about what we think we will be able to do against any team on a particular night,’’ Ringel said.

Thunderbird was led by Lillian Southwick and Shelbie Hess, who were named to the Black Canyon All-Region First Team. Southwick was the region’s Offensive Player of the Year and Ringel was Coach of the Year.

Southwick scored 23 points against Desert Edge (16-11). Hess only scored four points, but she had 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Jamie Heath chipped in with 12 points.

Desert Edge played with only seven players and had point guard Sheyenne Davis on the bench with a broken hand, which occurred in a pickup game last week.

Still, the Scorpions managed to lead 14-13 at the end of the first period. Thunderbird went on a 10-0 run to begin the second period and Desert Edge never quite could match its first-period energy after that.

Thunderbird got into the passing lanes and came up with numerous steals, often turning them into points.

Khadijah Marks led Desert Edge with 13 points, and Trishauna Pollard had 12.