PHOENIX — For the first time in school history, Pueblo’s girls basketball team will play for a state championship. The second-seeded Warriors knocked off No. 3 Flagstaff 52-32 in Friday’s Class 4A state semifinals at Grand Canyon University, setting up the biggest game in program history.
The Warriors won’t have much time. Saturday’s final tips off at 11:30 a.m. at Grand Canyon University. Despite the time crunch, Pueblo coach Izzy Galindo said his team will be ready.
Ilyssa Galindo, left, and Summer Fox celebrate their victory over No. 3 Flagstaff. The state championship game is today.
Winning “feels great,” he said. “I said I was gonna win championships when I got here (six years ago), but nobody told me it was going to be this hard. We still haven’t won yet.”
The Warriors (30-2) pressed full-court from the start, and jumped out to a 12-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Flagstaff rallied by pushing the ball up the court with fluid passing, and eventually took a 13-12 lead. From there, Pueblo caught fire. The Warriors went on a 13-4 run and took a 26-16 lead behind its stingy defense. Pueblo forced 11 first-half turnovers, eight of them steals, but still couldn’t put Flagstaff away. A 7-0 Flagstaff run gave cut Pueblo a 26-23 lead at halftime.
That was about as close as the Eagles (29-3) would get.
Pueblo extended its lead in the third quarter, forcing nine turnovers in that period alone and sparking a 16-0 run. Flagstaff didn’t score from the 5:40 mark in the third quarter until the 5:20 mark in the fourth. Pueblo finished with 23 steals and forced 30 turnovers.
Junior captain Summer Fox led the team with six steals. Jasmine Belt and Ilyssa Galindo finished with a 22 combined points.
Pueblo High School’s Ilyssa Galindo drives on Flagstaff’s Ashley Edison, left, and Mikaila Kayaani-Lee. A 16-0 run in the third quarter gave the Warriors an insurmountable lead.
Izzy Galindo is the first to admit that Pueblo doesn’t have premier talent — or at least as much as other teams in the state. But his Warriors play fundamentally sound, defensive-minded basketball.
“We’ve all played club ball since the seventh grade and have been friends for a long time so for us to get to this point of our careers is awesome,” Fox said. “None of us are selfish players and we always play together and for each other.”
As a result, the Warriors are one win away from a state title.
“I don’t have 6-footers, or girls that are being heavily recruited. They’re just girls that know how to play and scrap,” Galindo said. “We haven’t done anything yet. The goal is a championship. Getting there is a big deal … but we have to get ready for tomorrow,” Galindo said.
