Losing almost seemed inevitable, but the Falcons had some late-game heroics in their season opener on Tuesday, Nov. 23. The Fountain Hills girls varsity basketball team was outscored 28-11 in the first 15 minutes of the second half against Valley Christian, but the Smith sisters won the game in the last minute.

Valley Christian called a timeout with 1:09 left in the game after they tied it 36-36. Back-to-back turnovers by each team added to the tension, but senior Soliel Smith found freshman Seilah Smith alone in the corner. Seilah – or CC, as her teammates call her – hit a three-pointer with 21 seconds left to put the Falcons up by three. Then Soliel blocked a pass and her stingy defense at the top of the key prevented overtime.

“It’s pretty good, considering we only got one win last year,” Soliel said. “It was mainly about staying calm and not losing our heads like we did in the third quarter. We kind of came back and just relaxed a bit and played smart, and I think that led to that win.”

The Falcons had built up a 25-8 lead at halftime, but head coach Amanda Baca said her players were already tired by the break. The Falcons were outscored 18-5 in the third quarter, and the only points came from Soliel and junior Titleist Patrick hitting free throws.

Soliel led the Falcons with 14 points. Soliel made four of her five free throws and scored two three-pointers in the first quarter. Fellow senior Michaela Quintana finished with 10 points, and four came in the final quarter. CC scored 10 points for the Falcons as well.

CC Smith admitted she was scared and didn’t know what to do at the beginning of the game. The freshman does play club basketball, and by the end of this season, she’ll look like a seasoned veteran.

The five other players did not fill up the stat sheet, but the Falcons needed everything they could get. Senior Star Camacho recorded two steals, one leading directly to a layup in the second quarter. Junior LJ Holland stole the ball early in the fourth quarter and got it to Soliel for two points. Freshman Shania Rivera grabbed a few rebounds in her first varsity game, and Patrick made 75% of her free throws and grabbed six rebounds. Senior Ezra Scaife did not play in the opener.

The Smith sisters were the primary ball handlers, and they ran the offense all night. It was just the first game of the season, but Soliel already realizes the Falcons need more scoring options.

“I think we need to improve on what we do when we don’t have the ball and just play smart,” Soliel said. “We do read each other very well, just because we have been practicing since the summer, but we need to clean up staying focused and reading each other and making sure we can all be a threat.”

The season has just begun, but the girls got to rest over Thanksgiving break. The Falcons traveled to Payson after publishing on Tuesday, Nov. 30, and they will return home this Thursday, Dec. 2, when the Falcons host Gilbert Christian at 6 p.m.

“It’s going to be good because [Payson] always brings a good crowd,” Baca said. “We expect that every team we play is going to be a little bigger than us, so we’ll prepare for that. I’ll prepare them for the crowd, because if we play in the dome, it’s even louder. But I think this first win gives them a little confidence.”