DIVISION I-A: Seniors guide Faith Lutheran by Bulldogs

Faith Lutheran’s girls basketball team had its share of setbacks in the regular season, but four seniors stepped up Wednesday to make sure their final postseason opportunity would start on a positive note.

The Sunset League champion Crusaders broke open a close game in the third quarter and rolled to a 47-39 home victory over Virgin Valley in the Division I-A Southern Region tournament. Faith Lutheran (17-8) will meet Chaparral (19-6) in a semifinal at 3 p.m. Thursday at Sunrise Mountain.

Senior point guard Julia Benko led the way with 23 points and four rebounds.

“I knew I was going to have to go out there and give it my all,” said Benko, who set the pace with 13 points in the first half. “The seniors knew that if we didn’t win, it would be our last game.”

The Bulldogs (18-7) hung tough in the first half, taking the lead three times and preventing Faith Lutheran from putting together a serious scoring run.

But Virgin Valley went cold midway through the third quarter, and a six-minute scoring drought led to an 11-0 spurt that gave the Crusaders a 36-24 lead heading into the fourth.

“Defense has been the key for us all season,” said Faith Lutheran coach Jennifer Karner, whose squad kept the Bulldogs out of the offensive paint throughout the second half. “We want to force the outside shot because that gives us a better chance to beat teams.”

The Crusaders struggled to seal the win down the stretch, however, as Virgin Valley began hitting from the perimeter in the final minutes. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Abbie Barnard and Nikki Arquette cut the deficit to 43-39 with 1:02 remaining.

But Alyssa Tayrien and Benko responded with layups in the final minute to help Faith Lutheran put it away.

“I think the loss we had to them helped our girls focus tonight,” said Karner, whose team lost to Virgin Valley in November. “They wanted it, and they were willing to work hard to get it.”

Dani Tharaldson helped the Crusaders with nine points and six rebounds, and teammate Taylor Hammer added seven points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Arquette and Barnard finished with 13 points apiece for the Bulldogs.

Chaparral 47, Cheyenne 43 — At Chaparral, Unique Wilson had 19 points, and the Cowboys went 8-for-14 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to outlast the Desert Shields.

Tichina Savoy added seven points for Chaparral, which trailed 32-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

Lajuana Brown had 15 points to lead Cheyenne (8-14).

Moapa Valley 42, Clark 37 — At Clark, Kimberly Lewis had 14 points, and the Pirates (15-10) grabbed a 23-11 halftime lead on their way to a win over the Chargers (12-15).

Makayla Jackson and Breanna Harding each added nine points for Moapa Valley, which will face Boulder City (17-6) at 6:20 p.m. Thursday at Sunrise Mountain.

Bobbi Floyd had 14 points, and Ci’Quadya Belser scored 11 for Clark, which made just 4 of 21 free throws.

Boulder City 51, Western 35 — At Boulder City, Alyssa Ybarra had 21 points and nine rebounds as the Eagles defeated the Warriors.

Mallory Bird added 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Katlyn Daly had seven assists for Boulder City, which outscored Western 17-3 in the second quarter.

Guadalupe Herrera led Western (10-18) with 16 points.