Last year they needed to defeat Monument Valley in the first round of the 3A North Region Basketball Tournament to advance to the state tournament and the Lady Roadrunners prevailed. This year the Holbrook squad came up short against the Lady Mustangs in the first round, but is still headed to Winslow for a first round state matchup. Holbrook played well early, trailing by just four at the end of the first with five girls scoring in the first eight minutes. A late second quarter run by the Lady Mustangs gave them a nine-point halftime cushion. In the third Holbrook came out with three-point shots from Aaren Billie and Shantina Kinlicheenie that helped cut the lead to just two points late in the quarter. In the fourth with Holbrook struggling to find the bucket on offense, the Lady Mustangs pulled away to a 56-41 win, giving Holbrook a week off to prepare for its Winslow matchup. “We played well and forced them into several turnovers, but we shot poorly and in this league you have to be able to score to beat these teams,” said Coach Greg Perkins. “I was pleased with our effort, we kept them off the offensive boards for the most part and they had more turnovers than we did, but shooting just 22 percent won’t win many games. “Now we can focus our full attention on Friday’s game with Winslow, and, hopefully, we will shoot the ball better and advance to the second round, where we will most likely see Monument Valley for the fourth time this season.” Billie led Holbrook with 12 points. Kellin Bakurza added 8, Kinlicheenie, 7, Nyomi Yazzie, 5, Kaynasa Curley, 4, Jessica Paz and Cina Cummings, 2 each, and Col’bi Nez, 1. Holbrook 11 10 12 8 41 MV 15 15 14 12 56 Holbrook will face the Lady Bulldogs at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, in Winslow. The winner will face either Monument Valley or Round Valley in second round action on Monday, Feb. 21, at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott. The Lady Roadrunners and the Lady Bulldogs split their two meetings this year, with each team winning at home. Winslow went 1-2 at the North Region Tournament, beating Chinle, then losing to both Window Rock and Tuba City to place fourth. Holbrook was eliminated from the region tournament with last Thursday’s loss to eventual runner-up Monument Valley. Window Rock won the region tournament championship with a six-point win over the Lady Mustangs in the title game. Five of the six North region teams landed in the bottom half of the bracket and will have to eliminate each other to advance to the final four. In the top of the bracket, No. 1 seed and favorite Window Rock is the only North Region team. The Lady Scouts are heavy favorites to win the whole thing. Aaren Billie of Holbrook won the girls’ three-point shoot out competition and will represent the North Region teams at the state championship games played on Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Glendale Arena.