Cibola ends season with loss to Buena

The Cibola girls basketball team was in a prime spot to get a win in the state tournament.

But poor shooting and costly turnovers were enough to keep them from advancing, and the Raiders lost 48-37 against No. 15 Buena in Sierra Vista in the first round of the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division I State Tournament.

The No. 18 Raiders finished the game shooting 14 for 40 from the field — including 2 for 14 from behind the 3-point line.

“You're not going to win in the state tournament shooting like that,” Cibola coach Justin Hager said.

Kelsey Pangerl led the Raiders with 13 points and Brandi Badilla added 10.

Trailing most of the game, the Raiders cut the deficit to 30-28 early in the fourth quarter. However, a couple of key turnovers led to a pair of three-point plays for the Colts. Buena did a lot of damage off of second-chance points.

“They must have outrebounded us by 15 on the offensive end,” Hager said. “Putbacks just killed us.”

Cibola was forced to foul with two minutes left, and Buena was perfect from the line the rest of the way to keep the Raiders at a distance.

“My girls played hard. It would have been nice to get a win, but I'm really proud of the season they had this year,” Hager said.