The Lady Roadrunners picked up two much-needed wins last week in their return to the second-semester action. Hosting Round Valley on Tuesday night a sluggish first quarter turned into a fiery second quarter which led to a 37-25 halftime lead. Holbrook trailed 13-4 at one point late in the first before Kyia Chee hit a three-point shot and Bailey Williams had two two-point field goals.
In the second things turned quickly as Holbrook heated up from distance nailing eight three-point shots alone in the second period. Channing Harrington had three, Deya Guerrero hit three, and Jordan Claw poured in two helping the Roadrunners score 29 points in that quarter alone.
In the third, they scored 13 the more traditional way and led by 14 going into the final eight minutes. In the fourth Round Valley rallied behind their quick point guard and their six-foot post. The Elks outscored Holbrook by twelve in the final frame, and a banked-in long two-point shot pulled them within one before Deya Guerrero’s final free throw at the end secured a 58-56 two-point win for the Birds.
Deya Guerrero led the team in scoring with 17 points. Channing Harrington added 16, Jordan Claw 6, Alayna Yazzie 6, Bailey Williams 4, Kylia Chee 3, Angelica Uranga 3, Shayla Attaka 2, and KC Tsosie helped with a free throw. Holbrook converted 6 of 9 free throws and hit ten three-point field goals in the win.
“We struggled in the first five minutes of the game and the first five minutes of the fourth quarter. The three-point shooting in the second was fun to watch. The girls did a great job of sharing the ball and we flipped the score pretty quick. In the fourth, our final trey, the one from Angelica was huge at the time. We need to be able to score more consistently, but we really needed that win, and the girls got it done,” said Coach Perkins.
Playing in Snowflake on Friday night the Birds played a solid defensive game. They kept Snowflake’s top two scorers at bay and turned a halftime tie score into a 53-44 upset win over a very good Snowflake team.
Holbrook got balanced scoring from four girls in the first frame and a big three from Jordan Claw in the second. Treys from Harrington and Guerrero in the third quarter gave them a four-point lead heading into the final eight minutes. In the fourth Holbrook hit four consecutive treys, one each from Harrington, Jordan Claw, Shayla Attakai, and Angelica Uranga. The final one gave them a fifteen-point lead. They held on in the final minutes to upset Snowflake.
Harrington led in scoring with 14. Guerrero added 9, Jordan Claw added 8 as did Alayna Yazzie and Anglica Uranga. Bailey Williams finished with 3. Holbrook made 7 of 11 free throws and hit eight triples in the win.
“I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance in this game. We spent a lot of time defensively working on things for them, and the girls did a really good job of executing what we had worked on. Channing played the entire game, and she did a great job of distributing the ball out of the post to open shooters. Angelica also gave us a boost in the post. Getting those four three-point shots in the fourth to go gave us a double-digit lead and the girls held onto it. This was a huge win for these girls. They deserved it. We still need to find at least 3 more wins in our schedule to make the state tournament though. We have been improving and credit the girls and the way they have been working for that. We just need to keep building on this week going forward,” said Perkins.
With the two wins, Holbrook improved their overall record to 9-10. They are now 3-6 in regular season games. This week they host Blue Ridge on Tuesday, then will welcome in Winslow on Friday. Holbrook lost to both schools prior to the Christmas Break.
