’Twas the last night of the tournament with not much energy left in the house.
Rocky Mountain from Fort Collins, Colo., outlasted Desert Vista 39-32 to win the Red Division of the Nike Tournament of Champions on Thursday at Basha.
Both teams showed the effects of four games in four nights with numerous turnovers and missed shots.
"It was like we couldn’t hit water if we fell out of a boat," said Thunder sophomore Alexis Gannis, who led all scorers with 18. "We had finals, too, so we were studying for exams and having to get ready for the games. (The fatigue) was all mental. Eventually your mind gets to you after a couple games."
Desert Vista (7-4) came back from an 18-point deficit on Wednesday to reach the finals but couldn’t overtake the Lobos (8-0).
The Thunder pulled to 38-32 on Leah Erdmann’s driving layup with 1:40 remaining but couldn’t take advantage when Rocky Mountain only scored one point on three oneand-one opportunities in the final 1:24.
"I’m proud we made it to the finals," Desert Vista coach Adrian Boyarsky said. "I thought we played well enough to win but the shots just didn’t fall for us."
The Lobos led 27-22 going into the final quarter and went on a 7-2 run in the
first 1:08 to take control of the game.
Jocelyn Zarling scored off a steal, then Alana Curtis completed a three-point play and scored again for a 34-24 Lobos’ lead.
Down 12-6 after the first quarter, Desert Vista fought back to lead 17-16 on Erdmann’s 3 with 22 seconds left but Rocky Mountain’s Carly Glisan scored on an inbounds play at five seconds to lead 18-16 at the half.
