Holbrook fell to Chinle on Tuesday night in their only regular season game played last week. They then went 3-3 at the Round Valley Round Ball tournament finishing as the runner-up in the championship game.
Facing the Wildcats in the Den on Tuesday night, Holbrook trailed by just 4 points at the end of the first. Channing Harrington netted 6 in the frame. From that point on Chinle controlled the game, eventually handing Holbrook a 59-31 loss.
Harrington led Holbrook in scoring with 13 points. Bailey Williams added 7, Holly Casamero added 6 in her first action of the season. Jordan Claw had 3 and Deya Guerrero finished with 2.
Holbrook played six games in the tournament, with two pool games played on Thursday. The team struggled to find any rhythm, losing to Round Valley 40-36 in the first game. Harrington led the team in scoring with 11, and Claw and Angelica Uranga each scored 9.
Thursday’s second game was also a struggle, which Holbrook lost to Many Farms 41-37. Harrington again led the team in scoring with 11 points.
Holbrook opened bracket play on Friday afternoon with a solid 50-19 win over Camp Verde. That game Holbrook appeared to find a groove, which they carried over the next two days. KC Tsosie led Holbrook with 11, while Harrington and Casamero each added 9. Williams helped with 8.
Friday night, Holbrook battled a tough Fort Thomas team and eventually prevailed 63-54. Guerrero had the hot hand draining eight triples and finishing with 30 points. Harrington added 12.
That win put Holbrook into the semifinal round on Saturday morning against a strong San Carlos team. Holbrook played well but still found themselves trailing by 5 heading into the fourth and were actually down by 8 points midway through the final quarter. In the fourth they battled back, outscoring the Braves 22-9 to advance to the championship game with a 59-51 win.
Shayla Attakai found the touch hitting four big treys finishing with 15 points. Harrington added 13, Williams 12, and Guerrero added three treys for 9.
In the championship game, Holbrook faced St. Johns and through the first period, it looked like it would be a good game. Holbrook hit four 3-point shots and led 18-13. However, as well as they played in the first with the 18 points, they were held scoreless in the second and trailed 31-18 at the half. That 13-point marring held throughout the second half, with St. Johns eventually winning 50-37.
Guerrero led in scoring with 11.
“The first two days were a struggle but beginning with Friday morning I saw a lot of improvements in the team. We got really tired of waiting for the championship game all day on Saturday but overall, I was proud of the way the girls played. We saw a lot of positives and certainly see things we need to improve on. We might be getting a little healthier illness-wise, and we will have to overcome some injuries going forward, but this team has some potential. We just have to be able to consistently score,” stated Coach Greg Perkins.
Harrington was named to the all-tournament team.
Holbrook enters this week with a 4-7 overall record. They’re 1-4 in regular-season games. This week they play at Blue Ridge on Thursday, then will make the short trip to Winslow on Saturday for an afternoon game. Holbrook will play in the Epic Tourney New Years tournament on Jan. 2-4.
