Mountain View's lone senior, Arnecia Hawkins carried her team through an up-and-down first half on Monday in the Division I girls basketball state tournament quarterfinals against Chandler. The second-half, however, belonged to the younger crowd.
Arnecia's younger sister, freshman Armani Hawkins, and junior Jordan Jensen carried the Toros' offense in the second half of their 58-49 win over the Wolves, who knocked out Mountain View in the semifinals last year. Mountain View, the top seed in the Division I bracket, advances to face the Cinderella of this year's tourney, 12th-seeded Hamilton, in the semifinals on Thursday.
Playing in what will be her collegiate home court, Arizona State's Wells Fargo Arena, Arnecia Hawkins did more than enough offensively to make up for the Toros' 15 first-half turnovers, scoring 27 points and hauling in nine rebounds. Arnecia hit three, 3-pointers and scored on an array of drives, put-backs and layups, pouring in 23 first-half points as Mountain View built a 34-28 lead.
Things got a little shaky for the Toros early in the second half, as Arnecia went to the bench after picking up her fourth foul.
"When Arnecia got into foul trouble, we were a little concerned," Mountain View coach Henry Bribiescas said. "But her teammates stepped up for her. That's what we've been preaching all season, teamwork, and it really showed tonight."
In a situation that would faze many veteran players, Toros freshmen Armani Hawkins and Sabrina Haines didn't blink. Chandler, thanks to seven quick points from senior point guard Dezirae Elias, cut the lead to 38-38 with three minutes left in the third quarter. With momentum clearly on Chandler's side, Haines turned the tide when she converted three-point play with 1:44 left. After a steal by Jensen, Armani Hawkins scored and was fouled, sinking the free throw to push the lead to 44-35 just 18 seconds later. The lead grew to 10 points (46-36) as the quarter ended when Armani Hawkins scored on a dazzling drive.
"Our little freshman, Hawkins, just stepped up," Bribiescas said. "We lose one of them, but I'm glad that one's a freshman."
Mountain View kept Arnecia Hawkins on the bench to start the fourth quarter and that move paid off, as Jensen scored back-to-back buckets to give the Toros their biggest lead of the game, 50-36, just a minute in to the final quarter.
"As long as our lead stayed at three possessions, I thought I could keep (Arnecia) out and I knew I was going to need her down the stretch," Bribiescas said.
The Toros, despite their youth, were able to methodically spread the ball around the court in the final minutes, never letting Chandler get closer than seven points.
"Our freshmen are not freshmen, they've played 31 games already so we consider them sophomores," Bribiescas said. "And they held up to the challenge. They really grew up a lot tonight."
Armani Hawkins finished the game with 16 points for the Toros (29-2), and Jensen had 12 points. Haines added seven rebounds and junior Rene Coggins added six rebounds for the Toros.
Chandler (23-6) was led by senior Simone Westbrook, who scored 20 points, 13 in the first half. Westbrook was also hampered by foul trouble, and missed a large portion of the first half after being whistled for her third foul just two minutes into the second quarter.
Elias added 13 points, but was able to hit just one 3-pointer. Kylene Knutsen, another senior, had seven points, all in the first half, and failed to connect from 3-point range in the second half, despite nine attempts.
"At our place, they hit 10 3-pointers," said Bribiescas, referring to Chandler's 77-56 win at Mountain View on Jan. 13. That win was part of a 19-game win streak the Wolves posted after a 4-3 start. "But here, we knew it was going to be a little different, and it was.
"Chandler is a great team and we knew that we were going to have to play very well. We stayed poised, we got a lead, and we kept it. This is a big win for our program."
