The Lady Roadrunners opened the season with a road loss at Alchesay last Tuesday evening. The Falcons are the twotime defending 3A state champion, but through the first half Holbrook held their own in front of over 3,000 fans in Whiteriver.
Raelle Yazzie netted 12 first-quarter points, helping Holbrook keep pace with the Falcons. Holly Casamero added four and Noheah Aberle netted two, giving the Roadrunners an 18-17 lead after the first eight minutes of action.
Raelle Yazzie added 6 to her total in the second and freshman Bailey Williams netted 5, as did Casamero, helping Holbrook maintain their 1-point cushion at the half 36-35. Holbrook played well through the first six minutes of the third period before the roof caved in. Leading by 2 points with two minutes left in the period, the Birds quickly found themselves trailing by 7 at the end of the period. The Falcons poured it on in the fourth period, holding Holbrook to 7 points, resulting in a 71- 54 final score loss for the Lady Roadrunners.
Raelle Yazzie led in scoring with 18. Casamero added 9; Deya Guerrero, 8; Aberle, 6; Alayna Yazzie, 5; Williams, 5; and Maya Francisco hit a late 3-pointer.
“We played fairly well through the first three periods. We just hit a wall in the fourth. Raelle and Holly stepped up offensively in the first half but didn’t score in the second half. We need to get more consistent scoring from our starting group and our bench will have to develop quickly for us. Overall, I was pleased with how we handled their press defense, finally getting them out of it. But we still need to clean up a lot of unforced turnovers going forward. Our schedule is tough from the start so we need to put things together quickly,” stated Coach Greg Perkins.
Holbrook now 0-1, will host Chinle on Tuesday this week before having a week off to prepare to host Ganado next Tuesday.
Tickets for all home games will only be on GOFAN for purchasing. No cash tickets will be sold at the door for all home basketball games this season.
