In a 6A Heavyweight tilt, the Sandra Day O’Connor Eagles and the Basha Bears squared off in the nightcap of the Inaugural Grand Canyon Classic. Both teams brought the intensity out of the gate with the Eagles winning the tip. The Eagles would jump out to a 15-4 run with applying full court pressure forcing the Bears to turnover the ball. The Eagles would capitalize by taking advantage of the Bears turnovers converting it to high percentage layups. O’Connor would hold a 24-11 lead over Basha after the first quarter.
The Eagles caught fire to start the second quarter with field goals from Bella Elsholz and Thalia Daniels. Eagles Coach Charles Wilson has done a phenomenal job in building depth within his program. O’Connor subs pretty steady and there is not much of a drop off from the starters to the reserves which makes them difficult to match up with for opposing teams. Ava Schooler put on an impressive first half performance as she led all scorers with 12 points. The Eagles would hold a 38 to 23 lead.
The Eagles would begin the 2nd half with possession and would strike first with a layup from Daniels. The Bears’ Rylie Sword would return fire with a trey before Coach Chiniqua Bright would call a timeout to make a few adjustments. Coach Bright has really done a phenomenal job in changing the culture at Basha. Her Bears had big wins to open the season against Perry and Higley. The third quarter would spotlight the Eagles Audrey Bhasania as she displayed impressive scoring ability in multiple ways. The Eagles would hold a commanding lead 63-31.
The fourth quarter flew by with the running clock. The Bears struggled with turnovers and finding an offensive rhythm. In the end, the Eagles would triumph with a 75 to 37 win. Bhasania would lead all scorers with 22 and the Bears Sword would finish with 13.
