Sunnyside claimed the Fourth Annual Inferno Invitational championship on Wednesday night with a 51-37 win over southside rival Pueblo at Blue Devils’ gym.
The Blue Devils won five games in the tournament and are 6-0. Pueblo is 6-1.
“This was one of our goals, to come back and be back-to-back champs,” Sunnyside sixth-year coach Justin Delgado said. “We know Pueblo’s our friendly southside rivalry game; they’re a really good team. But over the last two or three years, now we’re 5-0 against them in tournament, regular season, or playoff games, that’s always important to us to come and bring it when we play them so we can rep for the southside.”
The Blue Devils’ senior wing player, Esabella Barajas, led all scorers with 17 points, followed by the Warriors’ senior small forward, America Cazares, with 16.
Both teams were fairly matched in the first quarter, trading baskets and turnovers.
Eight points by Cazares put Pueblo ahead 12-6 going into the second quarter.
The second quarter was all Sunnyside, which outscored Pueblo 20-6. The Blue Devils started with back-to-back three-pointers. The first one was by junior point guard Dora Medina, followed by Barajas to tie the game and swing momentum in their team’s favor.
Their defense held the Warriors’ offense in check, forcing turnovers and creating difficult shots, getting the Warriors out of their rhythm.
Pueblo’s scoring drought ended with a 3-pointer by sophomore point guard Celine Lopez with 1:27 left in the half, the Warriors’ first points in the quarter.
Sunnyside ended its dominant second quarter with Barajas ripping the ball away and taking it to the other end for an easy two points. That gave Sunnyside a 26-16 lead going into halftime.
“Esa is one of my captains; she’s one of my top seniors,” Delgado said of Barajas. “She’s a great defensive dog; she can also get after it for us on offense. She has the length, size, and speed to stay with America, who’s one of the top players here in Southern Arizona, no doubt, but she did a good job tonight and held her in check.”
Pueblo made several attempts to get back in the game, but Sunnyside had an answer for every small run by responding with immediate baskets, after continuously creating turnovers on the defensive end.
Both teams will hit the road for their next games:
Sunnyside travels to Glendale to play Mountain Ridge on Dec. 5.
Pueblo will play at Catalina Foothills on Dec. 8.
Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
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