by 
Copper Basin News
The No.13-seed Ray girls’ basketball team advanced to the second round of the 2015 Division IV State Basketball Championship tournament before No. 4-seed Phoenix Country Day ended its season, defeating the Lady Cats, 62 – 43.
The Lady Cats faced No. 20-seed Tohono O’Odham in the first round of the tournament, which took place on Feb. 20 at the Prescott High School. The Cats cruised to the 56 – 38 victory against the Eagles, who entered the game with a record of 14 – 3.
The Lady Cats, who finished their season with a 17 – 9 record, fell behind early against PCDS on Feb. 21 and trailed at the end of the first quarter, 21 – 10. Both teams scored less than 10 points each in the second quarter, but PCDS was still able to increase their lead to 12 points at halftime, 30 – 18.
PCDS outscored the Lady Cats 32 – 25 in the second half, in which Ray scored only eight points in the third quarter.
The Lady Cats’ offense finally started to roll in the fourth quarter, where they had 17 points. But it was a little too late as PCDS already had the game at hand, leading to the lopsided win.
Despite the disappointment of their season ending, the Lady Cats had an outstanding season, one that could result in a top 10 ranking at season’s end.
Andrew Luberda began writing for Copper Area News Publishers (CANP) in February 2013 after working 15 years in Healthcare Financial Management. Andy covers sports for 11 high schools. His stories are published in Copper Basin News, San Manuel Miner and Superior Sun, in addition to the San Tan Valley Daily PRSS and CopperArea websites. Additionally, he has written human interest stories and business profiles. In May 2012, he earned an AAS in Sports Management at Central Arizona College before graduating with a BS in Communication from Arizona State University in 2014. He and his wife, Kelli, have three sons – AJ, Kyle, and Kade.
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