Winslow and Holbrook met for the first of two meetings this season on Friday night in Winslow and the higher ranked Lady Bulldogs used a strong third quarter to build a double digit lead which they held onto throughout the fourth period to secure a 61-50 East Region win.
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The Bulldogs, which came into the game ranked fifth in power points, picked up four first period points from Andrea Willeto and held a three-point lead over eighth ranked Holbrook at 9-6. In the second period Holbrook’s Desirae Bain heated up from the perimeter draining two treys along with a traditional bucket pacing Holbrook to a 17-point quarter.
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Winslow matched the Roadrunner output with eight of their 17 coming from Kelli Mitchell. When it appeared Holbrook would trail by six at the break, a full court drive and pass from Holbrook Freshman Talynn Spencer found Sophomore Mika Joe in the corner, who knocked down a late three leaving the Roadrunners trailing 26-23 at the break.
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The third quarter was really the decisive one. Winslow netted 21 points in the period, spread out among six different players, while Holbrook scored just 10 with six of those coming from Matehya Aberle. Holbrook did outscore Winslow in the fourth period by three points but it wasn’t near enough to make things close. The Bulldogs made just enough free throws in the final minutes to keep Holbrook at bay.
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Mitchell led all scorers with 13 points. Justine Butterfield added 10; Brianna Little, 9; Willetto, 8; Kristin Wagner, 7; Kylie Begay, 6; and Sierra Singer added 5. Winslow converted 18 of 30 free throw attempts and nailed three shots from behind the arc.
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Holbrook was paced by Madison Chappell and Aberle with each netting 11. Spencer had 9; Bain, 8; Tristen Ambrose, 5; Joe, 3; and Megan Cummings added 2. Holbrook made 11 of 22 charity tosses and connected on four three-point tries.
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“Give credit to Jerron’s team. They outworked us, especially on the offensive glass. We gave up double-digit offensive rebounds, which really hurt. We knew going in we would have to avoid foul problems and take care of the ball and we did neither, credit their level of play for both of those. We finished with way too many turnovers and had some foul problems in both halves. We also have to shoot much better at the free throw line. Both teams left a lot of points off the board. Now we have to regroup and get ready for the next week. Winslow protected their home court and we will have our chance to do the same in a few weeks, but we will have to work harder,” stated Roadrunner Coach Greg Perkins.
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With the win Winslow improved to 14-2 overall, and they are 6-2 in regular season games. The Bulldogs will be busy this week with four games currently scheduled in a five-day span. The team hosted Blue Ridge on Tuesday and will play at Tuba City on Thursday, host Payson Friday, then play at Monument Valley on Saturday. Next Tuesday they play at Snowflake.
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With the loss Holbrook dropped to 14-4 overall and they are 5-3 in regular season games. After the team hosted Snowflake on Tuesday they will travel to Blue Ridge on Friday, then welcome in Valley Sanders on Saturday.
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