The Lady Roadrunners have once again advanced to the Elite 8 round of the 3A State tournament thanks to Friday night’s second round win at Window Rock. Holbrook opened the 3A state playoffs on Feb. 18 in Holbrook. The No. 10 seeded Roadrunners played host to No. 23 Fountain Hills. Playing in front of a full house Holbrook wasted little time gaining the edge over the Falcons by racing out to a 17-7 first period lead. That lead grew larger in the second where the team netted 22 points to lead 42-11 at the half. With everyone seeing playing time Holbrook advanced to the second round with a 55-22 win. Matehya Aberle led in scoring with 14 points. Madison Chappell added 12; Shan Footracer, 9; Jineane Cummings, 8; Mika Joe, 5; Desirae Bain, 4; and Joycelynn Thomas added 3. Tuesday’s win put the Lady Roadrunners on the road on Friday night at Window Rock where they had to face the No. 7 Lady Scouts. Window Rock jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Holbrook picked up their first two points of the game on a put back by Aberle. That shot broke the ice and settled the team a little and they ended the first period trailing 9-15. In the second, Desirae Bain and Cummings each had 5, which pulled Holbrook to within a single point at 23-24 at the half. In the third, Holbrook gained a little bit of an edge. Aberle went to work inside where her teammates were able to get her the ball and she netted 7. Chappell had four and Bain hit a buzzer beating trey, putting Holbrook in front by one with eight minutes to play. Early in the fourth the team edged out to a four-point lead at 44-40. That was a lead they would never give up. Talynn Spencer canned four free throws in the closing moments and Holbrook held to upset the higher seeded Scouts 50-46 and earning the right to face Page in Prescott on Monday in the Elite 8 round. Aberle led in scoring with 19 points. Cummings, Chappell and Bain each had 8; Spencer, 4; Joe, 2; and Shan Footracer helped with one. Holbrook made 15 of 27 free throws and hit three treys. Window Rock was led by Bayle Talkalai with 14 points and Jana Solee had 12. The Scouts made 13 of 14 free throws and hit two three-point field goals. “We struggled early but once we found our footing it was a battle the rest of the way. I thought Abigayle and others did a tremendous job on Jana Solee. We were able to get into transition at some point and made just enough free throws down the stretch to get the win and advance,” stated Coach Greg Perkins. With the win Holbrook advanced their overall season mark to 25-6. The Lady Roadrunners faced No. 2 ranked Page on Monday afternoon in Prescott. If they were able to pull off the upset, they will be headed back to the final four on Friday to face either Tuba City or American Leadership Gilbert. A loss to Page will have brought their season to a close.