To get a better idea of XCP basketball coach Frank Villa’s
satisfaction with how his team played on Tuesday night (Dec. 9) in a 65-54 loss
to Goodyear Millennium, the No. 1-ranked Division I team in the state by azcentral.com, one has to include a bit
of background.
The night before, on Monday night (Dec. 8), the Gators
suffered a 52-point road loss to Surprise Valley Vista.
So to come back with a strong performance, one in which the
Gators led for a handful of occasions, against such a highly regarded team such
as unbeaten Millennium, is noteworthy. Efforts of a similar nature could allow
XCP to earn a playoff spot come February.
“Right now, I’ll take it,’’ said Villa, whose team is 3-6.
“It was looking bleak (after Monday), but we tried to stay positive in our
approach and our girls came back with a great attitude and had a great effort.
I will take that every night.’’
The Gators’ aggressiveness allowed them to take a 14-12 lead
at the end of the first quarter.
Xavier continued to battle in the second quarter. A
three-point play by senior guard Lexi Carbine gave the Gators a 23-21 lead with
3:05 left before halftime, but Millennium went on an 8-2 run to close out the
half for a 29-25 advantage.
Millennium began to pull away in the third quarter and had a
56-40 lead about halfway through the fourth. Xavier outscored the Tigers 14-9
the rest of the way to make it more respectable than many people had
envisioned.
“We boxed out quite a bit, had quite a few rebounds and were
able to run our plays,’’ Villa said. “And our defense was impressive,
particularly early in the game.’’
Xavier had three players score in double figures – Vanessa
Murphy (16 points), Carbine (14, in one of her better games) and freshman
forward Alana Kelley (12, despite a leg injury that sidelined her briefly).
Millennium was led by guards Quynne Huggins (21 points) and
Passionate Amukamara (18).
Xavier takes the floor next on Thursday night (Dec. 11) with
a game at Anthem Boulder Creek.
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