The Lady Roadrunners earned a trip to the final four with a 46-34 come from behind victory over Pusch Ridge on Monday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 3A State Tournament. Fourth seeded Holbrook fell behind by as many as nine points late in the third period against the fifth seeded Lions. Holbrook’s defense and an offensive spark from Rayanna Wauneka staged the Lady Birds comeback. Over the final minutes Holbrook outscored Pusch Ridge 18-3 to advance to the semi-final round on Friday.
Madison Chappell netted four first period points helping her team take a one point cushion to the second. Ariyana Pratt scored all of her seven points in the first half, keeping the cold shooting Lady Roadrunners within reach at the half trailing 19-16. Holbrook trailed 30-21 midway through the third before Wauneka canned the first of back-to-back three point shots. Those shots and some key Holbrook steals sparked the largely North contingent crowd to full throat which bothered the Lions. In the fourth Holbrook got five points from Elena Smith who made another big three, and four each from Dakota Dick and Rayanna Wauneka. Holbrook converted five of six charities down the stretch to open the lead to double digits.
Wauneka led the team in scoring with 12 points, all coming in the second half. Madison Chappell added 9, Elena Smith 7, Ariyana Pratt 7, Dakota Dick 6, Twyla Clark 3, and Dishie Kinlicheenie added 2. Holbrook made three treys and went 13 for 17 at the free throw line.
Pusch Ridge made one three-point field goal and converted 5 of 11 from the stripe.
Coach Greg Perkins was very proud of his team. “This was a big win for these girls and this program. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to be playing on the final weekend of the season and now we are here. We shot the ball really poorly in the first half, (18 percent) most likely due to nerves and adjusting to the arena. In the second half we shot much better. Ariyana really played well in the first half keeping us close. Early in the second half we faltered a bit, but once again our bench came through for us. I told the girls we needed someone to make a shot to get us started and Rayanna stepped up and ignited our team and the crowd with her first three-point shot. That spark fed our defense and we quickly became a much more aggressive team,” he said.
Although it was a rough start, Perkins knew the girls could pull off the win. “Before the game I felt we could pressure them, but we really didn’t have an effective press until late in the third. Once we got the momentum in our favor the girls really stepped up and closed the deal. Dishie did an incredible job guarding their best player for most of the night. She and others kept the ball away from her and got her frustrated during the game, which was a huge key to our success. This is now our second trip to the final four in the past five years. These girls have had an amazing season thus far. This win also marked our 26th of the season which is a new record as well for this program.”
Holbrook now 26-5 will take on top seeded Valley Christian on Friday afternoon at the Gila River Arena. Tip time is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. The winner will play for the state championship on Saturday evening against either second seeded Page or third seeded Chinle, which will meet earlier in the afternoon in the other semi final match up. Valley Christian has cruised through the season going unbeaten against 3A level teams. The only blemishes on their 24-3 record are three losses to big schools in the Nike Elite Tournament. They have been the number one seed in the state tournament the past three years but have yet to win the title.
