The Lady Birds were busy last week with three games in four days. Hosting St. Johns on Wednesday night, the team started slowly on offense but defensively they played well enough to trail visiting St. Johns 6-5 through the first eight minutes.
In the second frame a 3-pointer from Shayla Attakai and 6 points in a row from Ava Mann helped Holbrook hold a 16-15 halftime lead.
Farrah Natoni netted 6 straight in the third, as the Birds extended their lead to 7 points heading into the final eight minutes. In the fourth they got 10 points from Channing Harrington to help secure the 42-33 home court win.
“We are going to struggle to score this year, but I thought our defense was better. We need to pick up the offense and get a better-balanced attack. More girls need to score. Shayla was playing well before she was injured, as was Farrah, so hopefully those two will be able to get back on the court to help us out. We are pretty thin as it is and can’t afford to lose anyone,” said Coach Greg Perkins.
Harrington led a balanced Holbrook team with 10 points. Angelica Uranga Williams added 9; Natoni, 8; Mann, 6, Attakai, 5, and Bailey Williams added 4. Holbrook made 7 of 10 free throws and hit one 3-pointer.
St. Johns made 3 of 9 free throws and hit two long range shots.
Thursday night the team traveled to Snowflake for a girls-only contest. Snowflake is the defending 3A champion and played like it through the first two quarters to lead 34-16 at the break. Harrington netted 8 of her team high 20 in the first half. Williams netted 4.
In the second half, Holbrook played even with the Lobos but eventually lost the game 63-46. Harrington led Holbrook with 20 points. Williams added 12; Sami Thomas, 6; Maya Francisco, 5; Camesha Bahe, 3; and Uranga Williams added 2.
Holbrook made 20 of 28 free throws and hit two long range shots. Snowflake was led by Ryah Denhalter’s 23-point effort. They made 2 of 4 free throws and hit four shots from behind the arc.
“We knew Snowflake was good and their size and speed got to us a little in the first half. In the second though, I think the girls discovered we can play with this team. Obviously, we will need to get totally healthy by then and get better balance on offense for that to happen. Despite the loss this may have been our best effort to date,” noted Coach Perkins.
Saturday night a shorthanded Holbrook team played in Round Valley where they came up two points short in a 42-40 final outcome. The Ladies trailed 10-9 after the first and had built a 9-point lead in the second before giving up points late but still led 21-19 at the half.
Francisco, Harrington, and Mann along with Williams all hit treys in the first half. The third quarter ended with the score knotted at 30-30. The final quarter came down to the final possession. Holbrook quickly cut away a 6-point deficit in the final 30 seconds but their final offensive possession with a two point deficit ended with a turnover leaving them on the wrong side of a 2-point final score.
Williams led Holbrook in scoring with 18 points. Harrington played with foul trouble most of the night before fouling out and finished with just 8 points. Uranga Williams added 6, Francisco and Mann each had 4.
“Clearly we had issues with their post player. She impacted us on offense as we only shot 17% on 2-point field goals. She had multiple blocks. Also, we just have to stay out of foul trouble which we didn’t in this game. At halftime we had six players with at least 2 fouls. Channing ended up fouling out down the stretch and we struggled to get a final shot to tie the game without her in there. But despite our struggles we were still in the game throughout and had a chance to tie at the end. Bailey filled in as guard for much of the night and even though she is playing a new position for her she did well. We certainly could have used the win,” stated Coach Perkins.
Holbrook made 9 of 14 free throws and hit seven 3-point shots, 3 from Williams.
Round Valley was led by their 6’1” post, Addison Poston. They finished with a game high 23 points. The Elks made one 3-point field goal and hit on 13 of 22 free throw attempts.
Holbrook headed into Monday’s night home court match up with a solid Chinle team with a 2-4 overall record. Following that game they will play in the Round Valley Tournament beginning with pool game vs Fort Thomas and Joseph City on Thursday. Their first bracket game will be vs Many Farms Friday afternoon.
Following the Round Valley Tournament Holbrook will be off until Jan. 1, when they play in the Epic Tourney in Chandler.
