The Lady Roadrunners opened and closed the Round Valley Tournament with losses to second ranked Page over the weekend. Holbrook took on the Lady Sand Devils in the first game for both teams on Thursday afternoon and played well early on, but struggled in the second period scoring just two points. The teams played even in the second half, but the damage had been done as Page won the game 53-34. Teyah Goldtooth led Holbrook with 12 points in the loss. The Roadrunners took on Alchesay on Thursday evening and after a sluggish first half in which they led by only three, they pulled away in the second half, building as much as a 22-point lead before securing the 71-58 win. Goldtooth led three players in double figures with 15 points. Rochelle Nez added 14 and Cheyenne Lester hit for 12. Friday afternoon Holbrook rallied in the final two minutes to overtake Safford, defeating the Lady Bulldogs 50-46. Safford outscored Holbrook in each of the first three periods, but in the fourth the Birds held the Bulldogs to single digits and executed plays well at the end of the game to get the win. Goldtooth again led with 19 points. Cheyenne Lester added 8 and Dishie Kinlicheenie scored 6. In the first round of bracket play on Friday afternoon, the Roadrunners met up with Blue Ridge and took down the Lady Yellowjackets 67-34. The Birds scorched the nets from the perimeter, collectively draining 11 three-point shots as eight players found the range. Goldtooth hit three treys to lead the team with 15 points. Nez added 12 and Tyler Pacheco had 8 with two treys. Laurie Brown, Quanyyah Lester, Kinlicheenie, Mikayla Johnson, Twyla Clark and Alishea Kee all made three-point shots in the win. That win put Holbrook into the semifinal game against the host team Round Valley on Saturday morning. The Roadrunners came out strong and played well early, with Summer Olney and Cheyenne Lester creating havoc on defense by harassing the Lady Elk guards, helping Holbrook race to a 20-5 lead. From that point Holbrook went sluggish and despite maintaining a 10-point lead until the final minutes, they really didn’t play all that well. In the fourth the Birds made 10 of 11 free throws and pulled away for a 56-38 win and a spot in the championship game. Goldtooth led with 16, Quanyyah Lester added 12, Cheyenne Lester, 11, and Nez, 6. The Roadrunners met up with Page in the title game on Saturday afternoon after the Sand Devils crushed all opponents on their way to the finals. Holbrook played extremely well in the first period, taking a 23-10 lead over the highly ranked Devils. Goldtooth scored 11 of her team high 21 points in the first period. Running mate Olney also canned a three-point shot, Holbrook’s fourth of the quarter. In the second Page stormed back, but Holbrook still held a 30-29 lead. In the third it was the Sand Devils who found the range from outside as they connected on four three-point shots to take a 51-41 lead into the fourth. Holbrook cut the lead to six midway through the fourth, but in the final minutes Page made its free throws and Holbrook struggled from the field, losing the game 62-48. Nez scored 9, Olney added 6, Quanyyah Lester, 5, Ariyanna Pratt, 3, and Cheyenne Lester and Adriana Monroe, 2 each. Teyah Goldtooth and Cheyenne Lester were named to the all tournament team. “Overall, it was a good tournament for us. Obviously, Page is very good, but I think we showed we can play with them, especially in the title game. Like the other top ranked teams we face, they take advantage of mistakes, which is what good teams do,” said Coach Greg Perkins. “I think we learned the areas we need to improve on and we found some success along the way as well. We shot the ball well for the most part, but we need to play with more intensity for the duration of games instead of parts of each game.” Holbrook moved its record to 6-3 heading into this week’s action. After hosting Valley Sanderson Monday night, the team will travel to Ganado on Thursday, Dec. 18, for the final game before Christmas. Dec. 29-31, the Roadrunners will play in the Valley Christian tournament in Chandler.