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Gilbert girls hoops trounce Cactus Shadows
February 18, 2022 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
Gilbert girls basketball continued a postseason streak to be proud of on
Friday night. The fourth-seeded Lady Tigers advanced to a conference
semifinal for the sixth year in a row, dispatching #5 Cactus Shadows with
ease, 57-32, in a 5A contest at the Jungle.
A chance at revenge is next. Gilbert (24-7) visits top-seed Flowing Wells
on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Flowing Wells, the 2021 5A runner-up, moved on by
knocking off #9 Ironwood Ridge, 56-45.
Gilbert's starters did all the scoring in balanced fashion. Meisha Caserio
led with 20 points. Morgan Evenson and Saadia Salim added 10 points
apiece. Maliyah Ross chimed in with nine points and Nicole Evenson
finished with eight.
Cactus Shadows (22-6) never led and was outscored in every quarter.
Gilbert took an 11-7 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Tigers
improved the margin to 24-13 at the half. The balanced scoring and strong
defense continued. Gilbert's starters totaled 7, 6, 5, 4 and 2 points the
first 16 minutes. Its free-throw shooting was exceptional. Gilbert shot
just two free throws in the opening half and made both. The second half
totals from the line - 14 of 16. Caserio made 8 of 8.
Cactus Shadows didn't mind shooting threes throughout the game, but
struggled from that distance - 3 of 16. The Falcons were led by junior
guard Sierra Labuwi with 14 points and sophomore Camryn Koester (11
points).
POST SEASON HONORS
Congratulations to sophomore Meisha Caserio for being selected as
the 5A San Tan Region Player of the Year!
Congratulations to sophomore Morgan Evenson for being selected as
the 5A San Tan Region Offensive Player of the Year!
Congratulations to senior Nicole Evenson for being selected to the
5A San Tan All Region First-Team!
Congratulations to senior Maliyah Ross for being selected to the 5A San
Tan All Region Second-Team!
Congratulations to senior Saadia Salim for being selected as a 5A
San Tan All Region Honorable Mention!
Strong finish pushes Gilbert girls past Casteel
January 20, 2022 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
Gilbert's girls basketball team had one of those stretches
Thursday night that seemed the impetus to a come-from-behind win over 5A
San Tan Region rival Casteel. A 25-23 halftime deficit became a 33-25
Tigers' lead two minutes into the third period.
In the end, however, Gilbert needed - and conjured up - a second run in
the fourth quarter that sealed a 58-48 victory over Casteel.
Gilbert collected its 17th victory this season against seven losses. The
Tigers, #5 in the current 5A power-rankings, also took over first place in
the San Tan Region with a 3-0 mark. #10 Casteel (13-8, 3-1) was in first
entering the contest.
Sophomore guard Meisha Caserio paced Gilbert with 27 points - 10 in the
fourth quarter. The Tigers 39-38 edge to begin the final quarter ballooned
to 53-42 with 4:04 to go. Three successive layups (two by Caserio and one
by Morgan Evenson) off turnovers and a fast-break halted Casteel's last
rally with its deficit at the 4:04 mark growing from five to 11 in 30
seconds. Evenson joined Caserio in double figures with 12 points.
Maci Hess paced Casteel with 16 points - eight in the final quarter. Megan
Jones added 12 points. Both teams are idle until Tuesday (Jan. 25) -
Casteel hosts Campo Verde and Gilbert entertains Higley.
Gilbert steadfast in 42-36 win over Horizon
January 6, 2022 by Les Willsey, AZPreps365
Gilbert's girls basketball team appears to have shaken off
a three-game losing streak that ended the 2021 portion of the 2021-2022
season.
The Tigers won their second game in three days after the holiday break
with a solid 42-36 victory over Horizon at Gilbert High.
The triumvirate of Meisha Caserio, Morgan Evenson and Maliyah Ross tallied
40 of the Tigers' 42 points in a game #7 (5A power-rankings) Gilbert never
was behind. A 9-0 lead midway through the first quarter paved the way.
Caserio led all scorers with 18 points, Evenson added 13 points and Ross
chipped in nine points. Gilbert improved to 14-6 this season while Horizon
fell to 9-7.
Caserio netted 11 of her points in the first half helping Gilbert forge a
23-19 advantage. Evenson and Ross had eventful third quarters. Evenson led
Gilbert's perimeter game hitting 3 of 5 threes - two of those in the third
that helped for a brief time elevate the Tigers' lead to 35-25. Ross's
offense came in the paint and free-throw line (3 of 4).
Mia Brown, Samantha Sebastiani and Noel Gallegos did the bulk of Horizon's
scoring with 10, 9 and 8 points, respectively.
Both teams are set to play their third game this week on Friday. Gilbert
plays host to formidable and #5 Millennium. Millennium's only
power-ranking loss is to 6A #1 Valley Vista earlier this week. Horizon is
on the road again visiting Verrado.
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