Shiprock girls off to good start

Lady Chiefs upend Gallup, 83-65

SHIPROCK

Speed has always been a key ingredient in the Shiprock High School girls’ basketball team’s success.

This season is no different.

Speed has played the sixth man for the Lady Chieftains, and when it’s mixed with a strong shooting game, it could make for a lot of success this season.

Combine Shiprock head coach Larenson Henderson and speed, and the two are obvious strengths for this team as they embark on a new season.

“We’re very quick and I’m really surprised with the shooting,” Henderson said. “Right now we have 13 solid players and I think that’s going to be hard for teams to try and run us.”

Those strengths shined in their season-opener with Gallup High School over the weekend.

Shiprock defeated the Lady Bengals 83-65.

The two teams kept the score close throughout the entire first half of the game with Gallup leading 35-34 at the half.

After another close quarter in the third stanza, Shiprock players developed a hot hand behind the arc and pressed Gallup for the win.

Henderson said he was pleasantly surprised at the team effort displayed.

“I was also excited to see a lot of my young players, who played varsity last year but at the bench most of the time, step into that roll of dictating the game,” he said.
One of those players was sophomore Tayya Dale, worked the arch along with senior Tanisha Begay.

Henderson said in a sense, Dale stepped up into Tia Woods’ position as Woods tore her ACL just before the season started. Dale suffered the same injury at the beginning of the season last year.

Henderson commended Dale for her performance, along with that of Begay’s.

He said this season Begay moved from the guard position to a position closer to the basket, simple because she was the only one who could offer the team some height.

“It’s a big change for Tanisha to play from a guard to a leading forward now,” he said. “I think it’s going to take a lot of pressure off of her as well as far as handling the ball. It’s going to free up a lot of pressure off of Tanisha.”

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