The Lady Roadrunners struggled in their first two outings of the season. Playing in Window Rock on Friday night, they were solid through the first half, but a big third quarter by the Scouts led to a 44-39 Holbrook loss.
Holbrook trailed 10-9 after the first, with Channing Harrington hitting a trey in the first. She added another in the second, and Maya Francisco hit 2 shots in the paint, giving Holbrook an 18-17 halftime lead.
In the third, Holbrook ran low on gas. Window Rock outscored them 19-11 in the period. Shayla Attakai hit a long-range trey, and Bailey Williams scored 6 in the quarter, but Holbrook trailed by 7 heading into the final eight minutes.
In the fourth, they trailed by as many as 9 before rallying late to cut it to 5 at the end. Harrington scored six in the period, and Sami Thomas added 2.
Holbrook was led by Harrington’s 15-point effort. Bailey Williams added 12; Maya Francisco, 4; Sami Thomas, 3; Attakai, 3; and Angelica Uranga Williams finished with 2.
Holbrook made 7 of 11 free throws and hit four treys in the loss. Window Rock was led by Tianna Edison with 15, and Kourtney Bitselley added 13. The Scouts made 4 of 5 free throws and hit 4 treys.
“I saw some good things in the first half and late in the game. Angelica did a good job on the boards for us. Channing did her expected things and Bailey helped with double-digit scoring. She is also forced into playing guard early this season, which will be an adjustment for her. We need to get in better shape, and we have to work on several things to get better before we get to January. It will take some time,” stated Coach Greg Perkins.
Saturday afternoon, Holbrook hosted a good Tuba City squad. Through the first eight minutes, the game was close with Holbrook’s starters playing well. Attakai hit a deep trey, Uranga Williams added three, and Bailey Williams hit for 2, keeping Holbrook within 1 going into the second quarter.
Tuba City held Holbrook to just 4 points in the second quarter, those coming from Harrington. The Warriors’ freshman phenom, Layla Curtis, scored 8 of her game-high 22 points in the second, giving Tuba City a 25-12 halftime edge.
Holbrook scored better in the third, but so did Tuba City, who led 43-21 with eight minutes left. In the fourth, Holbrook had just 2 points on free throws while Tuba netted 15, slicing through Holbrook’s porous defense for the 58-23 win.
“Tough game for us. Tuba is really good and I would expect them to give Page a run for their money in the north if they stay healthy. That freshman is very good and will only get better. She is fun to watch, just not against us. Much like the first game, we struggled once we got tired. We had trouble taking care of the ball and shot really poorly. That is a bad combination against anyone, let alone a team like Tuba City. We have multiple things to work on in the coming weeks. Getting in shape is a top priority, finding better movement on offense, and working harder on defense. It will come; we just have a lot of newcomers, and it will take some time. I do have a couple of promising-looking freshmen we will be looking at as well down the road,” said Perkins.
Holbrook will travel to Ganado on Tuesday, then will have some much-needed practice time to prepare for the three tough games coming up. Dec. 3, they host St. Johns. On the fourth they travel to Snowflake, then Chinle comes to Holbrook on Dec. 9.
