It was an extremely busy and successful week for the Lady Falcon basketball squad as the local squad went on to beat the Florence Gophers in their second regular game of the season, followed by a 4-0 run through the Phoenix Country Day School Desert Classic tournament to walk away with a championship title.

Things aren’t slowing down too much this week, either, as the local ladies take on another three teams in regular play.

The Falcons squared off against Notre Dame yesterday evening, Dec. 10, and will play Northwest Christian on the road this evening, Dec. 11, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.

Play continues Friday, Dec. 13, with a home game versus Payson. That match-up is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. in the high school gym.

The final game of the 2013 portion of the season is set for next Friday, Dec. 20, with a 4:30 p.m. road game against Bourgade.

Florence

The week began for the Falcons with a regular match-up against Florence Dec. 3.

The local ladies jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in their game against the Gophers, going up 19-6 in the first quarter and moving ahead 38-9 by the half.

The Falcons’ offense was on fire this outing, with a defense that only allowed Florence to put much together in the third quarter of play.

The Falcons moved ahead 61-21 in the third and held strong through the final minutes of play, winning the game 67-21.

The Lady Falcons had four athletes score in the double digits this outing, including Ashlin Caltabiano with 13, Sierra Jarriel with 12, Sadie Czarnyszka with 11 and Natalie Stilwell with 10.

Desert Classic

Over the weekend, the Falcons took on four opponents in the Phoenix Country Day School Desert Classic tournament, going on to win all four games and claim the tournament crown.

The first three rounds of the tournament featured 20-minute running halves, according to head coach Mandy Baca, with the championship game played as a regulation outing. Despite the shorter early games, the Falcons managed to put together quite an impressive offensive drive throughout the day.

Game one of the tournament saw the Falcons besting Salome, 54-20. Stilwell put in 19 points with Jarriel at nine and Brooke Yost at seven.

Game two was a much closer outing with the Falcons besting Estrella Foothills 38-31 as Stilwell once again led the show, scoring 15 points. Caltabiano and Jarriel both added nine apiece to the scoreboard.

Into game three and the Falcons were back in full control of the ball, handily trouncing Bourgade Catholic 53-9. Stilwell scored 16 this outing with Brooke Yost at 12 and Jarriel at 11.

Finally, the Falcons once again made short work of their opponents in the championship round, going on to beat Horizon Honors 66-27 and claim first place. Brooke Yost scored an impressive 23 points this outing, followed by Jarriel with 11 and Caltabiano with 10.

“It was a good tournament to start the year,” Baca said.

“We got to work some kinks out and try some new things offensively.”

Whatever those “new things” were, they worked like a charm for the Falcons, as the team managed to string together more than 200 points throughout the four-game tournament.

“Our team improved on execution and the effort was pretty solid both days,” Baca continued.

“Sadie and Nat worked hard underneath while our guard play with Brooke, Ashlin and Sierra did a great job handling the ball and putting defensive pressure on the ball.”