LADY WOLVES TOURNEY: Chavez gets hot at right time, leads Trailblazers into title game

Durango’s Jazmin Chavez was in a shooting slump when she stepped onto the court Friday to face Basic.

She struggled at times, but broke through late to lead the Trailblazers to a 43-39 overtime victory over the Wolves in the Gold Championship Bracket of the Lady Wolves Holiday Tournament at Basic.

The win lifted the Trailblazers into Saturday's championship game, where they will face Lakeside (Calif.) at 9:30 a.m.

With Durango trailing 39-38 in the final minute of overtime, Chavez intercepted a pass and drove to the hoop for a layup. She was fouled on the play, and her three-point play gave the Trailblazers a 41-39 lead. She finished with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals.

“Jazmin is a good athlete, but she’s been struggling with her shooting for the past few games,” Trailblazers coach Bill Thompson said. “We just told her to keep pushing and keep fighting.”

Basic appeared to have the game in hand late in regulation when Jayla Brown broke away for a layup to give the Wolves a 32-25 lead with 3:53 remaining.

But Chavez got a steal, a layup and a foul shot to cut Durango’s deficit to 32-28 with 1:13 left. Teammate Brittany Romo followed with a 3-pointer from the right side and a free throw that tied it at 32 with 42.9 seconds remaining.

Basic’s Dana Deloney, who had sparked several scoring runs, fouled out in the final minute, but the Wolves managed to take a 39-38 overtime lead when Brown made a layup and a foul shot with 35.8 seconds on the clock.

But the Wolves struggled with ball control down the stretch, and Chavez took advantage with her game-winning play to put the Trailblazers ahead 41-39 with 9.4 second left.

“I’ve been the varsity coach here for two years,” Thompson said. “And one thing I can say is these girls never give up on me. They always give 100 percent, and anytime you do that, you’re going to get opportunities.”

A second-quarter rally gave the Trailblazers a 16-13 halftime lead, but Basic opened the second half with a 10-0 run to go ahead 23-16 with 1:40 left in the third.

Romo’s third 3-pointer of the game came early in the fourth quarter, igniting a Durango rally that ultimately sent it into overtime.

Romo finished with 16 points to help Durango, which won despite 26 turnovers.

Brown had 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals to lead Basic, which shot just 33 percent (7 of 21) from the free-throw line. Deloney helped with seven points, eight rebounds and five steals.

Desert Oasis 59, Steveston London (Canada) 20 — Mikala Kirby scored 23 points to lead the Diamondbacks past the Sharks.

KePatriot Simpson added 12 points for Desert Oasis.

Mt. Eden (Calif.) 49, Tech 25 — Clarissa Szluha, Alyssa Ahina, Elena Bobadilla, Haylee Holsclaw and Christine Sweet scored four points apiece for the Roadrunners in a loss to Mt. Eden.

Mt. Eden 50, Desert Oasis 37 — Kristine Carpio and Angelica Leano scored 10 points apiece to help Mt. Eden beat the Diamondbacks.

Ashlynn Sharp led Desert Oasis with 12 points.

Faith Lutheran 54, Las Vegas 28 — Bobbi Tharaldson and Dani Tharaldson each scored 14 points to help the Crusaders cruise past the Wildcats.

Teconna Dyer led Las Vegas with eight points.

Lakeside 71, Silverado 38 — Maia Crawley scored 24 points to help Lakeside roll past the Skyhawks.

Teah Fischer led Silverado with six points.

Marshall Metro (Ill.) 76, Chaparral 14 — Tyisha Saunders and Juliunn Redmond each scored 18 points as Marshall Metro rolled past the Cowboys.

Rosa Richardson and Marcia Hawkins each led Chaparral with four points.

Tech 33, Steveston London 32 — Szluha scored 10 points to lead the Roadrunners, who held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Sharks.

Chaparral 52, Silverado 48 — Abigail Delgado scored 15 points to help the Cowboys hold off the Skyhawks.

Hawkins added 14 points for Chaparral.

Deja Siaki led Silverado with 18 points.