It was the Tale of Two Strategies for Xavier Prep’s
basketball team in its first two games of the annual Scorpion Shootout at
Goodyear Desert Edge on Friday (Nov. 25).
The Gators ran like the wind in their opening-round game and
Peoria Sunrise Mountain couldn’t keep pace as Xavier recorded an 84-12 victory.
In the second game against Phoenix Maryvale, XCP had to be
patient as the opponent stood and dribbled the ball for nearly the full
eight-minute first quarter.
The Gators seemed like they weren’t sure what to do at
first, holding a 2-0 lead going into the second quarter. Then they began to
open things up and rolled to a 54-14 triumph.
That allowed Xavier to climb into the winner’s bracket on
Saturday (Nov. 26). The team will face either Maricopa or host Desert Edge in a
semifinal game at 4:30 p.m. If the Gators win, they will get the chance to win
the tournament for the second year in a row with a 7:30 p.m. title game in the
main gym. If the Gators lose, they would play a 7:30 p.m. game in the auxiliary
gym for third place.
“That is what happens when you are the defending tournament
champion. People try to throw you off any way they can,’’ Xavier coach Stephen
Moss said of Maryvale’s early tactics. “We like to score at a high pace, run
and gun, like we did in the first game. We run our offense off our defense. But
there is a time when you have to adjust, and we were able to do that.’’
Xavier (3-0) had four players score in double figures
against Sunrise Mountain. Point guard Leilani McIntosh totaled 29, forward
Montana Oltrogge had 14, guard Paris Moore had 12 and forward Katie Hassett had
10.
McIntosh again led the Gators in the second game with 17
points. Wing player Addison Putnam was next in line with 9. Xavier struggled
with its shooting in the first half or the point differential could have been
more significant.
Not all the news was good for the Gators.
According to Moss, the team has lost junior forward Alana
Kelley for seven to eight weeks due to a knee injury. That, he said, means
McIntosh, Oltrogge and Hassett will have to ramp up their productivity to make
up for the loss of Kelley.
Kelley was the Scorpion Shootout’s MVP last year, and went
on to average 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
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