Fountain Hills, Ariz. – The Roughriders advanced to the 2A semifinals with a 64-51 win over the Fountain Hills Falcons on Friday night, thanks to timely scoring bursts and a gritty, physical performance on both ends of the floor.
Both teams traded 12 points in the opening quarter, setting the stage for a closely contested game. In the second quarter, however, the Roughriders began to pull ahead, establishing a 30-23 lead at halftime behind the sharp shooting of guard Sadie Richardson, who knocked down a couple of deep three-pointers to ignite the offense. Although the Falcons edged out Pima 15-13 in the third quarter, a decisive 21-point surge in the fourth—punctuated by a 13-0—sealed the win for the Roughriders.
Richardson led the team with a game-high 19 points, and Fountain Hills’ Seilah Smith paced the Falcons with 14. The victory sets up a semifinal showdown for the Roughriders against Arizona Lutheran Academy on Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum. This will be a rematch on a regular season meeting that the Coyotes won 37-36 over Pima. Pima is 2-1 all time against Arizona Lutheran.
