The Lady Roadrunners continued their improved play, picking up two more wins last week and extending their winning streak to five games. When the initial 3A rankings came out on Tuesday, Holbrook landed in the 17th position and with two wins during the week they will be higher with the new rankings on Tuesday.
Hosting Blue Ridge this past Tuesday, the Lady Birds trailed by 2 after the first but three treys from Channing Harrington in the second quarter gave them a 1-point lead at the half. Jordan Claw netted 9 in the third period, and Holly Casamero also hit from distance, helping the Birds extend their lead to 2 points going into the final eight minutes. In the fourth, Holbrook’s defense limited the Jackets to just 5 points and Harrington and Shayla Attakai each added treys. The team also made five of six free throws in the final minutes to win the game 56-51.
Harrington led the team in scoring with 14 points. Alayna Yazzie added 11, Claw, 9; Angelica Uranga, Bailey Williams and Casamero each finished with 5; Attakai, 3; Deya Guerrero, 2; and KC Tsosie added 2. Holbrook made good on 13 of 16 free throw attempts and connected on nine shots from behind the arc.
Hosting Winslow on Friday night in front of a packed house, the Birds got a quick start from Harrington. She drained 7 in the first eight minutes and added 5 more in the second. Guerrero hit from distance twice in the half along with a 4-point play, and Uranga scored four. Williams also added a 3-point shot, helping Holbrook build a 30-16 halftime lead.
Alayna Yazzie led the way in the third with 5 points. In the fourth, Williams again hit from distance as Holbrook closed out the game for the 52-34 win.
“I felt on Tuesday, we didn’t have one of our better defensive games against Blue Ridge, but Friday’s game in that type of environment I was very pleased with our defense. Obviously, Channing gave us a great start on offense but Claw, Alayna Yazzie and Guerrero along with others did a good job on their top two players, which helped us get the win. This week our schedule once again gets tough. Both Show Low and Monument Valley are good teams and playing on the road will be a challenge for this young team. Hopefully, they can rise to the occasion. When we play good on the defensive end, we can play with most teams,” stated Coach Greg Perkins.
Harrington led Holbrook in scoring with 16 points. Williams added 10; Guerrero, 9; Alayna Yazzie, 5; Uranga, 5; Casamero, 4; Chelsey Begaye, 2; and Tsosie added 1. Holbrook made 12 of 19 free throw attempts and connected on 6 shots from distance.
Winslow was led by Tatum Henling’s 11 points. Emiah Yazzie added 8; Biinay Patterson, 6; Kaitlyn Belone, 5; and Kiera Barton finished with 4. The Bulldogs made nine of 15 charity tosses and hit one 3-point shot.
With the win, Holbrook moved their overall season record to 11-10. They are now 5-6 in regular season games and have climbed to 3-2 in east region play. Holbrook was ranked 15th in power points prior to Friday’s win over Winslow.
They travel to Show Low on Friday to take on the 10th-ranked Cougars, and then on Saturday a trip to face 11th-ranked Monument Valley in Kayenta is on tap. Next Tuesday they will play in Alchesay.
