With their 53-40 victory over Sunrise Mountain in the 5A quarterfinals, the Verrado Vipers reached their first girls basketball playoff semifinals in team history.
The No. 2 Vipers (18-1) are the top remaining seed in the 5A tournament, after undefeated Casteel forfeited its first-round playoff victory. Reaching this round is a proud moment for the Vipers, who have been inching closer each season to becoming one of the top teams in the AIA.
“It feels amazing to be able to make the mark on the program for the first time and being able to bring that to Verrado after a lot of years of hard work and almost making it, but this year finally getting there." said sophomore forward Isabella Barrett.
The Vipers boast a young squad, as none of their top six scorers are seniors. The bench unit is senior-heavy, and Beard gives the role players plenty of credit for the team's success this season as well. But in most games, the younger players are entrusted in clutch moments.
In the quarterfinal game, it just happened to be Barrett who got hot, scoring from all parts of the floor and ending the game with 16 points.
“I’ve been knowing that young lady since she was a kindergartener. And she’s a grown-up. She showed us tonight what a grown-up is. Grown woman basketball," Verrado coach Vernon Beard said.
Barrett simply gave credit to her teammates for recognizing that she was ready to score.
“I feel like when anyone on our team starts hitting shots, the team wants to get them the ball so they can take more. Tonight it was just me," she said.
The scoring outbreak from Barrett in the quarterfinal was pivotal for Verrado, but it was ultimately the high-energy pressure defense, especially late in the game, that propelled the Vipers to the semifinals.
Beard is the school's assistant cross-country coach, and most of his girls ran with the team all fall season to work on endurance. As the game wears on and opponents become tired, missing shots and making errors, the Vipers continue attacking at a high rate.
That effort showed itself in the fourth quarter of the quarterfinals. Tied at 31-31 after three, the Vipers scored 22 and allowed just nine points to a desperate Mustang offense.
“Our offense is predicated on what we do defensively, and defensively we were able to turn up the pressure," Beard said.
Verrado will need the same defensive output in Wednesday's semifinal match, as the No. 2 Vipers host the defending-champion No. 3 Millennium Tigers, who are also a region and Agua Fria Union High School District rivals. The two teams have played twice already this year, splitting wins as both teams defended home court.
The Vipers won the last matchup in a defensive battle, 31-28, but know a playoff victory over the back-to-back champs will require an even greater effort.
But, even before game preparation the Vipers took a moment after the quarterfinal victory to celebrate the team's first semifinal appearance and a chance to host the late-season game on their home floor.
“It’s monumental because it hasn’t happened before here, so we’re looking forward to it," Barrett said.
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