The Lady Roadrunners’ season came to a close once again at the hands of the Page Sand Devils on Monday afternoon. Facing Page in a rematch of last year’s state championship game, this time in the quarterfinals Holbrook fell short losing, 67-59. Holbrook missed their first six shot attempts and Page took advantage, opening up an 11-3 lead midway through the first. The Birds eventually posted nine points in the period but trailed by eight. That eight-point margin proved to be the difference with the two teams matching each other in scoring the rest of the way. Madison Chappell netted six in the second and Holbrook went to the half trailing 29-23. In the third, Page extended their lead by three points. Chappell and Matehya Aberle, who came back from an injury right before the half both had four, and Desirae Bain hit her second three of the game, leaving Holbrook behind 44-36 at the quarter. The Roadrunners made a run in the fourth pulling to within four points at 44-48 behind a pair of treys from Bain, plus another from Mika Joe. Jineane Cummings added six in the closing minutes as well. Holbrook was forced to put the Sand Devils on the line where they made 16 of 24 in the second half of the fourth period to hang on for the eight-point lead and advance to the final four for at least the fourth consecutive year. Holbrook was led by Chappell and Aberle with 14 apiece. Bain added 12; Cummings, 10; Talynn Spencer, 3; Joe, 3; and Alyssa Yazzie helped with 1. Holbrook made 11 of 17 charities and hit six three-point field goals. Page was led by senior standout Camryn Nockideneh with 26 points. The Sand Devils made 21 of 31 free throws and hit one three-point field goal. “We started slow, which is difficult against a team as good as Page. We were hoping for a quick start in transition and just didn’t get our first wave of open shots to fall. We also had a couple of turnovers which they took advantage of. We were able to make a couple of runs during the game, tying it at 30-30 at one point and then getting within four late but just couldn’t get over the top. We shot just 39 percent in the paint which is a credit to their defense,” stated Coach Greg Perkins. “Anytime you play a top-level team you have to have your “A” game and in this game we didn’t, especially on the defensive end of the floor, which was disappointing. We only had 15 turnovers but they came at critical times. While the loss is disappointing, I am still very proud of my girls. They fought hard until the end. Overall, we had another solid season with 25 wins, but we did fall short of our goal. Our early season record put us in a tough spot in the bracket and we were unable to overcome it. Now our girls have to make even more of a commitment to getting better. With the loss of Madison and Desirae, we have some big holes to fill. Madison has been an incredible asset to this program for the past four years. She will be tough to replace,” he added. “Congrats to Page. They earned the win and I believe will once again be state champions.” Holbrook completed the season with an overall record of 25-7.
