The Lady Roadrunners came away from the Round Valley Tournament with the championship trophy in hand. Holbrook went 5-1 over the three day, 14-team event, avenging their lone loss in non-bracket play with a championship win over previously unbeaten American Leadership Academy in the title game.
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Holbrook opened the tournament on Thursday afternoon with a comfortable 51-15 win over Pinon. Eleven of Holbrook’s 12 dressed players scored in the game led by Megan Cummings with 14. Their final non-bracket game came three hours later against one of the top ranked 3A teams in American Leadership.
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The Eagles boast a pair of sisters, the Quigley’s Samantha and Tiffany, who between them came in averaging over 50 points per game. Holbrook played solid defense holding them to a combined 15 points but the team came up just short falling to the Eagles 39-37.
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“I thought we played really well on defense both individually and collectively as a team,” stated Roadrunner Coach Greg Perkins. “We got down early then battled back with our pressure and got them tired. We had a chance at the end but just came up a little short.” Madison Chappell led the team in scoring with 11.
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Holbrook opened bracket play on Friday morning with a 58-30 win over Camp Verde. The Lady Birds put up 25 first period points and had the game comfortably in hand the rest of the way. Several players again saw quality time. Chappell led all the team with 9 points, but Talynn Nez, Cummings, Desirae Bain and Matehya Aberle each netted 8.
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With the win the Roadrunners advanced to face Alchesay in the quarterfinal round. The Falcons came in with some quality wins but they fell behind the Roadrunners early. Holbrook posted 14 points in the first and held the Falcons to just six. Both teams scored well in the second leaving the Birds on top 30-22 at the half. Holbrook essentially put the game away in the third with a 15-point effort, then went on to win the game 54-39. Chappell led the team in scoring with 21 points. Aberle added 14.
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Holbrook returned to the dome on Friday morning for a semi-final match up with a much-improved St. Johns team. The Redskins reached that game with an impressive six-point win over last year’s 2A state champion Leading Edge. Holbrook struggled to score early, but still led by five after the first. In the second the Redskins trimmed all but three points off that margin. Bain came alive in the third period nailing five consecutive three-point shots giving her six for the game and Holbrook opened up a double-digit lead. Holbrook went on to win the game 50-35 to advance to the championship game.
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“We struggled with St. Johns early and they gained confidence as the game went into the second half. Desirae really came up big for us with her outside shooting. Matehya was solid throughout and we played good defense in the second half to get the job done,” said Perkins.
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In the championship game Holbrook was faced with a rematch with American Leadership, which held a 13-0 overall mark entering the game. “We met as a team before the game to look at a couple of options on how to defend them. In the first game we had plenty of good shots, they just didn’t go in. I told the girls we would still get those shots and if they went in we had a chance. We also needed a good defensive effort and both turned out for us.”
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Holbrook certainly did shoot well, connecting on 10 three-point field goals in the game. Cummings hit 5, Desirae Bain, 3; and Mika Joe had 2, all of which came in big moments. Holbrook led by two after the first and held a one-point cushion at the break. They built that lead to five heading to the fourth, then with a couple of more long range daggers from Cummings, Holbrook was able to build an eight-point lead then played keep away for the final two minutes before winning the game and the trophy 51-44. Cummings led the scoring with 15 points. Bain, Chappell and Aberle each had 9; Joe 8 and Talynn Spencer helped with 1.
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“Overall we played well. They are a good team with some great players, which except for their first game with us, nobody was within single digits of them including a very good Ganado team, but I thought our team defense really got the job done. We tweaked a couple of things from the first game and the girls responded very well.
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“Obviously when you make that many three-point shots it helps but really it was our defense which kept the Eagles in check for most of the night. It was a good way to finish off a long three days. Now we need to continue to build on that momentum and focus on Friday’s regular season game at Window Rock. I know we will see a different Scout team than we did a few weeks ago. We need to be ready for them,” concluded Perkins.
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Holbrook improved their overall season record to 9-2, and they will take their 4-1 power point mark into Window Rock on Friday. Following that contest they will next play in the Chandler Prep Tournament held on Dec. 27, 28 and 29.
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