Cienega girls slip past Marana, take on defending champ next

Cienega’s girls basketball team came into Wednesday night’s postseason opener with a chip on its shoulder, disappointed in the seeding it received despite a stellar regular-season record.

The Bobcats didn’t exactly make the statement they wanted to, but now they get an even bigger chance to prove their case.

Ninth-seeded Cienega pulled away down the stretch to beat No. 24 Marana 48-40 and advance to the second round of the girls Division II state tournament.

The Bobcats (20-2 overall) travel to play at eighth-seeded defending state champion Maricopa on Friday night.

A win there would send them on to the quarterfinal round for the third straight year.

Cienega finished as the Division II state runner-up in 2014 and suffered its only loss of the season in the state semifinals a year ago. The Bobcats had earned first-round byes in each of the last two seasons but just missed out on one this winter.

“This year, coming in, I already had a chip on my shoulder because nobody thinks Cienega has anybody still,” said senior guard Sabrina Hartzell. “Tonight I was a little disappointed. I just think Friday we’re going to pick it up — we’re going to make our mark and prove exactly why we should have been higher in our seeding.”

For a while, it didn’t look like Cienega was going to have that chance.

The Bobcats led the rest of the way after Hartzell drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 5:23 left in the first, but Marana (13-15 overall) remained close and had plenty of chances in the second half to regain the lead.

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“I’m happy with the way we played,” Marana coach Camron Dozier said. “We just missed some shots that we normally make, and that was the difference tonight.”

Sophomore guard Wednesday Reedy came up with a couple baskets late in the third to give Cienega some breathing room heading into the final quarter, but the Tigers stayed within striking distance, trying to avenge two regular-season losses against the Bobcats.

“We were forcing a lot of passes and going in when we shouldn’t have,” said Reedy, who scored nine points. “Just not being smart with the ball.”

Junior guard-forward Senida Sotelo helped Cienega pull away down the stretch, hitting a basket and three of four free throws in the fourth quarter.

Sotelo finished with a game-high 14 points while Marana junior Mele Hala’ufia scored 13.

Cienega takes an eight-game winning streak into Friday’s game at Maricopa, which is coming off a 49-39 loss to Mesa in its section tournament.

Cienega first-year coach Deia Mack believes her squad can dethrone the defending champ as long as they play “team ball.”

“I wasn’t ready for this season to be over,” Mack said. “I want to still prove that we can go further, and I think we can give Maricopa a run for their money on Friday.”