Mater East and Losee will meet for the Class 4A Southern Region championship on Saturday at Foothill, but both teams have already secured a spot in next week’s state tournament. The Knights defeated Mojave 67-57, while the Lions rolled past Sierra Vista 59-26 in Friday’s semifinals.
Mater East (20-5) overcame foul trouble from leading scorer Amija Macon, who fouled out but still contributed eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals. Three Knights scored in double figures: sophomore Myla Faught poured in 26 points, Aa’Ziah Fraizer added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists, and Gianna Graves posted a double-double with 10 points and 17 rebounds.
“I like (our depth) because it’s not a one-man show,” Mater East coach Oscar Davis said. “We have an excellent player in Amija Macon, she makes our engine go, but it’s a lot of other players that step up around her to weather the storm.”
The Knights used full-court pressure to hold Mojave (22-6) without a field goal for the first six minutes, building a 21-10 lead after one quarter. A 13-2 run in the third pushed the lead to 39-20 at halftime. Mojave cut the deficit to 13 early in the fourth, but Mater East answered with an 8-2 run to maintain a double-digit lead.
Freshman A’yanna Johnson led Mojave with 21 points, and Armonney Wright added 11. The Rattlers shot 18 of 29 from the free-throw line.
Losee (22-5) dominated Sierra Vista (22-6) from the second quarter onward. After a 16-10 first quarter, the Lions went on a 17-4 run spanning more than five minutes to take a 33-16 halftime lead. They opened the third quarter with seven straight points and never looked back, extending their winning streak to 15 games.
“We started off a little shaky, but I think (our) confidence, composure, poise, came out,” Losee coach Ginni Giles said. “We’ve done a lot of the dirty work in the gym and one of the things we talk about is discipline. When it gets tough, we fall back on our training.”
Heaven Thomas led Losee with 16 points. Rita Torres paced Sierra Vista with nine points.
The Lions defeated Mater East 66-55 on Jan. 16 in regular-season play. Saturday’s region final tips off at noon at Foothill. Both teams advance to the 4A state tournament at Spanish Springs High School in Sparks. Mater East won the 3A state title last season.
