GILBERT — Missing one of its top scorers and then losing another just when it was in striking distance, Sunnyside could not muster enough scoring power in its first round trip.
That didn’t completely dampen the Blue Devils’ spirits.
“We will be back next year,” said junior point Anneliese Felix, who ended up leading her team with seven points in Sunnyside’s 41-20 loss on Tuesday night to Gilbert in the first round of the girls’ Class 5A state tournament.
The ninth-seeded Blue Devils never got any offensive rhythm, turning the ball over eight times in the first quarter and going scoreless for more than eight minutes in a first-half stretch.
“We just didn’t have it offensively and sometimes you don’t,” said Sunnyside coach Justin Delgado. “The ball wasn’t finding the hoop. It is what it is. But I really like the way the girls battled on defense to keep it close at half.”
Despite the miserable shooting and little offensive momentum, the Blue Devils trailed just 17-13 at intermission but before the limited crowd settled in their seats for the second half, Vitoria Perez, the team’s leading scorer at 12.8 a game, rolled her right ankle under the basket and did not return.
Sunnyside was already short-handed as second–leading scorer Andrea De La Puente, who had been scoring 12 a game, was lost after getting hurt against Flowing Wells last Friday.
“We lost two of the top scorers on the team,” Felix said. “One was on the Friday game and one was in this game. Shots weren’t falling and we just didn’t have it together.”
Even so, when freshman Nayeli Nidez-Acuna made an outside jumper less than a minute into the second half, just after Perez was helped off the court, Sunnyside was within 17-15. But the Gilbert freshmen sparked a quick six points and then the Blue Devils went cold. They never got closer than six in the quarter and Gilbert pulled away in the final period.
“This is a different experience,” Delgado said. “Definintely something big here against Gilbert, who is a perennial playoff contender year in and year out. But I think it was good experience, I think it will help us in the long run. (Losing) both of those girls, (they) score 30 together. That definitely hurt us.”
Freshman Meisha Caserio had 11 points and Nicole Evenson added 10 for No. 8 Gilbert (12-6), who now travel to Queen Creek on Friday to face top-seeded Casteel in the quarterfinals.
Sunnyside finishes 11-6.
“I feel like next year’s team is going to be a really good team,” Felix said. “Especially because we are losing only two of our seniors that are starters. Like today, we lost Tori, we had juniors and below and I guess you could say we held our own.”
