The Lady Roadrunners went 1-2 last week, but that one win was huge in terms of rivalry and state tournament prospects. Holbrook opened the week with a sluggish performance in a 61-47 home-court loss to Show Low. The Ladies netted just seven points in the first quarter and six in the second. They played catch-up the rest of the way and despite scoring better in the second half they couldn’t close the gap. Noheah Aberle led the team with 8 points. Alayna Yazzie added 6; Raelle Yazzie, 5; Brooke Tsabetsaye, 5; Peyton Lee, 5; Holly Casamero, 4; Alexis Gene, 3; Nikol Gombos, 3; Lei Smith, 3; and Sara Billy added 3. Friday night in front of a packed house Holbrook finally played a solid defensive game and the result was a 60-48 upset win over rival Winslow. The Bulldogs came in ranked eighth, while the Lady Birds were 21st. Both teams played well early, with Holbrook getting seven from Alayna Yazzie and six from Aberle to hold a 16-15 first-period lead. In the second, Winslow edged in front by just one despite eight points from Raelle Yazzie and treys by Tsabetsaye and Deya Guerrero. Holbrook scored just four in the third and entered the fourth quarter trailing by eight. They slowly chipped away on offense and held the Bulldogs without a field goal and just four free throws in the final eight minutes to win the game 60-48. Raelle Yazzie led all scorers with 19 points. Alayna Yazzie added 12, as did Guerrero. Aberle netted 11; Gombos, 6; and Brooke Tsabetsaye had one three-point field goal. “This was a big win for us. Not only because it was against our rival, but it just might be the win that secures us a spot in the state tournament,” commented Coach Greg Perkins. Hosting second-ranked Monument Valley on Saturday it looked as if Holbrook might get a second upset. The ladies came out unfazed by perhaps the best team in 3A and built a three-point lead after the first frame. In the second, Holbrook caught fire draining six treys from five different players which helped them hold a 33-24 lead. Holbrook still led by eight going into the fourth. However, Monument finally tied the score at 58-58 and gradually pulled away to end Holbrook’s upset bid with a 70-61 win. Raelle Yazzie again led Holbrook with 16; Aberle added 14; Casamero, 8; Alayna Yazzie, 6; Billy, 6; Tsabetsaye, 5; Gombos, 3; Smith, 2; and Deya Guerrero added a single point. “The girls played great for the first three quarters. That is the type of performance we will need to advance in the state tournament if we can get in. We made some defensive mistakes in the fourth, didn’t block out well and missed eight free throws in the final few minutes. You just can’t do that against a team the caliber of Monument Valley. They are talented and well-coached, but we proved that when we play well, we can play with one of the top teams. Despite the loss, the weekend games were good for our confidence as we get closer to the state tournament,” stated Perkins. Holbrook is now 10-15 overall and improved to 5-10 in power point games. This week they will play at Snowflake on Wednesday, then wrap up the regular season in Payson on Thursday.
