The Lady Wildcats picked up two more wins last week including knocking off top ranked Fort Thomas in a battle of the top two teams in 1A. That game played at Fort Thomas, despite the 46-30 Wildcat win, was one of their closer outcomes since before Christmas.
Since returning to the court in January, the Wildcats are 11-0 with an average margin of victory being nearly 40 points. The majority of those wins have come against inferior 1A opponents. Joseph City may qualify for the Copper Tournament where they would have to more than likely face top ranked Snowflake or second ranked Tuba City in the first round, which would be a much bigger challenge if they want to advance in the open format tournament. If not, they would surely be the heavy favorites to win the 1A conference tournament once again.
They started last week with a 56-32 region road win at Ash Fork. Twenty first-quarter points followed up by 16 more in the second gave them a comfortable 36-13 halftime margin. The second half was more evenly played but the win was inevitable.
Their road win at Fort Thomas should place them solidly in the top spot in the 1A rankings and possibly into the bottom tier of the 1A-3A Copper tournament. They were ranked in the 16th and final position prior to Friday’s big win at Fort Thomas. The Apaches were ranked seventh in that bracket before the loss. Joseph City and Fort Thomas were the only two 1A schools ranked in the top 16.
