Needing to finish the regular season strong in order to reach the state playoffs, the Joseph City Lady Wildcats suffered a bit of a setback, winning just one of the three games played last week.
Things started well enough with a winning trip to Heber, where Joseph City handed the Mogollon Lady Mustangs a 56-31 loss. Krista Edwards and Katelyn Pugh each finished with double doubles. Edwards scored 14 points with 10 rebounds, and Pugh netted 11 with 10 boards. Lindi Gardner added 9 points; Amanda Baldwin, 6; Chalet Baldwin, Taylor Elmer and Sadie Tuckfield, 4 each; and Haley Edwards and Mary Larsen, 2 each.
Friday’s home game with St. Johns didn’t go quite as well. Joseph City struggled to find the bucket on offense, shooting just 16 percent from the field, thus making it nearly impossible to win any game. The Cats fell 37-24. Pugh did her part, though, scoring 11 with six rebounds. Gardner helped with three steals and six boards.
Needing a win at Red Mesa on Saturday, the Joseph City squad scored much better, but still came up just short in a 53-50 loss. Pugh netted 20 with 11 boards. Gardner added 15 points with six steals and five assists.
The Wildcats headed into the final week of the regular season ranked 26th in power points. To guarantee a spot in the state tournament they will most likely need to win at Hayden tonight (Feb. 4) and again in their final regular season game when they host Ray on Friday, Feb. 6.
