Valley Vista soaked up every bit of the Section 7 basketball experience over two days, although its final game didn't go quite as planned.

The Monsoon advanced to the championship game of the Arizona Athletic Grounds Bracket before falling 53-40 to an outstanding Mountain Ridge team out of Herriman, Utah.

Valley Vista won it's first three games of the tournament before its matchup with Mountain Ridge, which advanced to Utah's 6A quarterfinals earlier this year. It was Valley Vista's third competitive tournament in the last month.

"We're not a completely different team, but the growth this offseason has been astronomical," coach Brooke Hinkens said after Saturday's game. "That excites me for when school starts and we get back together as a team going into the next season. These players have really bought in the last three weeks." 

Senior Jada Wilson and junior Tysyn Johnson each scored 14 points for Valley Vista. The Monsoon only trailed 10-8 with 11 minutes left in the second half. From that point, Mountain Ridge gave Valley Vista trouble with full court defensive pressure, which led to turnovers and fast break points for Mountain Ridge, which built a 26-15 lead by halftime.

Mountain Ridge forward Jessica Maynard led all scorers with 17 points, while Kya Newton added 15. Newton and Maynard opened the second half with three-point field goals, and led Valley Vista by 15 (34-19) as it seemed the game was about to be blown open.

 Valley Vista's Jada Wilson (4) scored 14 points during Saturday's final Section 7 contest, including two on this layup after splitting the defense. (Ben Stapley/AZPreps365)But Valley Vista fought back behind Johnson, who connected on four straight three-pointers. Johnson's third three-pointer pulled the Monsoon within eight points (40-32), but that's as close as it would get the rest of the game, as Mountain Ridge continued to answer and convert offensively.

Johnson scored 12 of her points in the second half, and appreciated the elevated competition and experience of the tournament. 

"A loss isn't always a good thing, but sometimes it can help teach good lessons and make the team better," Johnson said. "This was a great tournament. There's a lot og talent in Arizona, but facing good teams from out of state is healthy for us."