The girls basketball team has a challenging road ahead, but despite their late-season fall in the rankings, they’ve proven to be a team on the rise. The Fountain Hills High School girls basketball team (13-9) won seven of their last nine regular season games, and they played No. 10 Chinle in the first round of playoffs yesterday, Tuesday, Feb. 14.

The Falcons went from No. 20 to 26 in the rankings, and then worked their way up to No. 20 again. They fell to No. 23 in the final rankings after a two-point loss to No. 4 Bourgade Catholic.

Bourgade Catholic won the 3A North Central crown and went 12-0 in region play. The Falcons were tied in region standings with Wickenburg and Scottsdale Christian at 7-4 until the last game. The Wranglers and Eagles each improved to 8-5 in the region and SCA jumped Fountain Hills in the final standings.

The Falcons have been a different team ever since Alexis and Alicia Ibarra stepped on the court. The upperclassmen sisters have been a catalyst of their recent success, and Alexis had 32 points in the 57-55 loss at Bourgade Catholic.

“Our game plan was to get the ball inside because I didn’t think that they could guard either her or her sister,” head coach Amada Baca said. “Kynzi’s [Schaunaman] been coming along, so I wanted to play an inside out game. We did that in spurts, and when we did, Lex finished. She did exactly what she should’ve done.”

Baca said the Falcons could’ve won had a few things gone differently, but it was still a great last game before playoffs. Baca lost her voice during the match because she had to yell loud enough for her players to hear her.

“Last night’s game was packed,” Baca said. “We had some students there, we had some parents there, and it was a great environment to play in. It was a good game to get us ready for what’s going to come at state. It was loud, the crowd was very amped. Both sides were getting into it. Anyone that comes out and supports us, I appreciate the support and I know the girls do too.”

Bourgade Catholic moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 after escaping from the No. 20 Falcons on their senior night. The Falcons have improved their team chemistry with the sisters in the lineup and went from losing by six at home to losing by two on the road to a top-ranked team in less than a month.

The Falcons also showed how much they have improved the day before. The Falcons beat No. 29 Northwest Christian 48-37 at home in the Ibarra sister’s second game, and last Wednesday, Feb. 8, the Falcons crushed the Crusaders 49-23.

“I think they’re coming together as a team and we’re gelling a little bit more with them on the floor,” Baca said. “So, a little cohesiveness, and I just think everybody has picked up their intensity a little bit down the stretch. We got good contributions from everybody. All 11 players got in and they all contributed so that was a really good team effort.”

The Falcons have more wins this season than their last two combined, and they don’t want to stop anytime soon. Outside of Bourgade Catholic, the Falcons didn’t see many top teams. Without the Ibarra sisters, they lost 44-37 at No. 15 Valley Christian early in the season, and with the sisters, the Falcons beat 2A’s No. 12 Phoenix Christian, 57-52 in overtime.

The competition in the state tournament won’t get any easier after No. 10 Chinle. The girls had to drive five hours just to get to their game, and if they advanced, they’d have another two-hour commute to Tucson for the second round.

No. 7 Pusch Ridge Academy will host the winner of Chinle and Fountain Hills on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. The quarterfinals will be held at the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley on Monday, Feb. 20, and the semifinals and finals will be played closer to home in Phoenix.

The Falcons last made the playoffs as the No. 24 seed in 2019-2020. Alexis was a freshman then, but she was not the focal point of the game plan. Other seniors LJ Holland and Titleist Patrick weren’t on varsity then, so Baca will be the only Falcon with real playoff experience.

Baca led the Falcons to a state championship in the 2013-14 season, and this is the fifth time they’ve gone to playoffs in nine seasons since then. She said that if the Falcons do their scouting report, believe in their systems, and stick to the game plans, they can surprise people in the playoffs.

“I think that there’s a first time for everything,” Baca said. “I think that we’ve been so locked in and just a hell of a lot more competitive in these last few games, that they’ll take the challenge, like they did [with Bourgade Catholic], and they’ll just bust their tail and run with it.”