The Lady Roadrunners had a quality return to the court for the new year, winning all three games played last week, capped by an upset win over Page on Saturday. After defeating Snowflake on Tuesday night at home, Holbrook picked up a win at Round Valley on Thursday, then had a nice long trip home after the win over the Sand Devils on Saturday. Playing in Round Valley’s old gym on Thursday evening the Lady Birds must have liked their surroundings, as they sank nine three-point shots against the Lady Elks. Five of those came in the second period, where they outscored the home team 26-12 to take control of the game. Quanyyah Lester, Teyah Goldtooth, Tilly Kelly and Shandie Demuth all hit from distance in the first half as Holbrook piled up 46. Halftime cooled off Holbrook as Goldtooth’s two third period treys were the only field goals over an eight-minute stretch, but Holbrook still lead 56-32 with one quarter left. In the fourth Round Valley made a bit of a run and outscored the Roadrunners, but the final outcome was never really in doubt with Holbrook picking up the 67-50 win. Goldtooth led the team with a game high 21 points. Lester added 13; Demuth 12; Summer Olney, Kelly and Rochelle Nez, 5 each; Tamara Yazzie, 4; Adriana Monroe, 2; and Dena Kinlicheenie and Sheraye Sells, 1 each. Holbrook made 16 of 26 free throws and connected on nine three-point shots. “Obviously, when you can shoot the ball that well it really makes games easier,” said Coach Greg Perkins. “We did a better job of taking care of the ball and played fairly well on defense. It was good to see Teyah get her shooting touch back from the outside. Shandie played well, as did Quanyyah, who started the game for us. Summer, Dena and Rochelle also played well, as did our bench players.” Saturday’s trip to Page brought out Holbrook’s best defensive performance of the season to date. The Roadrunners started the game in great shape, leading 8-0 on their first four trips up the court. From that point they never gave up the lead, although it was a low scoring defensive battle on both ends of the floor. Leading 12-7 after the first period, Holbrook held a tenuous 18-12 halftime lead. By the end of the third period Page had closed that gap to 27-24. In the fourth the Roadrunners beat Page’s full court pressure and Goldtooth’s final four free throws put the icing on a big 43-41 Holbrook win. Goldtooth led the team with 20 points. Nez and Olney scored 9 each; Dena Kinlicheenie, 3; and Monroe, 2. Page was led by Autumn Whitehorse with 13. “This was a huge win for us. Page is very tough at home and is a good team despite being relatively young like we are,” said Coach Perkins. “I told the girls we were basically playing ourselves, as they are similar to us in style of play. “I felt this was by far our best defensive effort for four quarters. The girls did a great job of switching all their screens and we took care of the ball. For the game we had just 11 turnovers, which has been an area we have struggled with. Summer, Teyah and Dena did a terrific job on defense and with the ball. Shandie and Rochelle also defended well. Those who played off the bench also contributed. We haven’t yet put together four complete quarters of basketball on both ends of the floor, but defensively in this game we were very close. I am proud of the way the girls played after such a long trip. Now we need to continue to improve,” concluded the coach. With the win the Roadrunners improved to 15-4 on the season. After hosting Payson on Tuesday, they will travel to Globe to face the Tigers on Saturday, Jan. 18. On Wednesday, Jan. 22, they will welcome in Blue Ridge.