The 11th seeded Lady Roadrunners played a solid first half at sixth-seeded Show Low on Thursday night in the first official round of the 3A state tournament. Unfortunately, in the second half they couldn’t find the bucket. Holbrook shot just 14% from the field in the second half scoring only 8 points and saw an 11-point lead evaporate over the final minutes and turn into a 7-point loss in what was their final game of the season.
Holbrook shot well early with Bailey Williams making two treys and Sami Thomas hitting one, helping the Birds keep pace with Show Low, who led 17-13 after the first.
In the second quarter Holbrook used a strong three-minute finish to build a 9-point halftime lead. Williams added two more treys to her total. Channing Harrington connected on one long range shot and Maya Francisco netted 4 and had three steals on defense, sparking a run that gave Holbrook a 31-22 lead at the half.
In the third, Harrington scored Holbrook’s only field goal and Francisco hit all four of her free throws, but Holbrook still led 37-32 despite only getting 6 in the quarter.
The cold shooting really showed up in the fourth quarter, where Holbrook only got 2 points from Francisco. The rest of the team failed to score, going 0 for 11 from the field in the quarter. The end result was Show Low hitting a late game 3 that broke a 39-39 tie late in the game. Holbrook never recovered from that shot and eventually had to foul down the stretch resulting in the 46-39 final score. Holbrook didn’t score in the final five minutes of the game despite getting the same shots they made for much of the first half.
Williams led Holbrook in scoring making her 12 points all in threes in the first half. Francisco added 10. Harrington hit 7; Thomas had 6; Angelica Uranga Williams and KC Tsosie each scored 2. Holbrook made seven treys, all in the first half and went six for six at the line.
Show Low was led by Jordan Boyce with 15. The Cougars made three treys all by Laci Peter and went 11 for 14 at the line.
“Overall, I was proud of the season these girls put in. They overcame a lot of things including the injuries we sustained throughout the season finishing with three girls, all starters at some point, in street clothes. We played well, just couldn’t make a shot in the second half. Our defense kept us in the game but I give Show Low credit. They made the shots when they needed to,” stated Coach Greg Perkins.
With the loss Holbrook ends their season with an overall record of 15-14.
Harrington was named the East Region Offensive Player of the Year. Williams was selected to the All-Region first team as voted on by all the region head coaches.
