Desert Vista entered the postseason with 12 losses. Now the Thunder is three wins away from an Open State Championship.
Thanks to a 42-40 victory at No. 3 Gilbert Thursday, 14th seeded Desert Vista advances to the Open quarterfinals, where it will face No. 6 Sunnyslope next Thursday.  
The growing chemistry between Cherri Hatter (18 points, four assists) and Trinity Jones (17 points, five assists) is peaking at the right time and so is the Thunder confidence.
Jones was the lone returning starter from last year's Open runner-up squad. The senior has helped mentor Hatter, a freshman who is already attracting offers from major universities, and led Desert Vista (15-12) in scoring this year.  

"This game and this postseason are a testament to how hard this team fights," Desert Vista coach Erin O'Bryan said afterward. "These kids believed in getting better and they still do. This was a well played game tonight by both teams and it came down to a missed or made basket. We had to play defense the entire last minute. The basketball Gods may have been on our side because Gilbert got some clean looks but the ball bounced our way."

Desert Vista also has two of the state's top players on its side.

Jones and Hatter are both guards and equally effective from the perimeter as well driving to the basket for high percentage shots. Thursday night was more of the latter, as they were each able to penetrate inside and get open away from the ball, which especially key in the second half. Hatter score four quick points as Desert Vista led the rest of the game.

"Trinity's an amazing player and she's really helped me with my game," Hatter said of Jones. "We're able to read eachother and do alot of the same things."

Senior Isabella Ivy led Gilbert with 18 points, which included some timely 3-point baskets when it appeared Desert Vista was primed to pull away.
The Thunder took its biggest lead (38-33) into the fourth quarter, when both offenses struggled to hit shots. 
But the Tigers fought back. Desert Vista led 42-40 with 2:30 left in the game, before the teams traded fruitless possessions. With a minute left, Gilbert was forced to find open shots from outside, as Desert Vista's zone defense proved effective down the stretch. After a Desert Vista timeout, Gilbert freshman Tylaiah Wily narrowly missed a 3-point attempt, but the Tigers wrestled for the rebound and ended up with possession, and called its own timeout with 20 seconds left. But the Tigers were unable to convert on three different attempts, and Desert Vista's surprising postseason run continues. 

"We've come a long way, Hatter said afterwards. "We lost some games and we've been through ups and downs...but I think the key is that we all stayed together."

Gilbert (21-7) will regroup as the top seed and favorite to win the 6A bracket. The Tigers won't play until Saturday, March 1st, when they will host the winner of the Higley-Caesar Chavez game. 

"I think we battled and I’m happy with that," said Gilbert coach Savannah Bix. "I think it mostly came down to the fact that Desert Vista played tougher opponents during January and February and were a bit more battle tested than we were."

Junior Aspen McClees added nine points and 10 rebounds for Gilbert.