Tohatchi girls looking for a perfect ending

ZUNI, N.M.

Making the state championship game seems to be the next logical step for the Tohatchi girls’ basketball team.

That’s the trajectory they hope to map out in the coming weeks as the Lady Cougars look to improve on last year’s Final Four finish.

In their final game of the 2015-16 season, Tohatchi kept pace with a very good Tularosa team and forced overtime. But after losing Kalian Mitchell and Cheyenne Begay – their two primary shooters – to fouls within seconds in the extra session, the Cougars were outscored 17-0 in the last two-and-half minutes.

“That left a bad taste in our mouths,” said Begay, who added that they have more weapons this year.

“We’re all contributing,” she said. “It’s just not one or two players, it’s all of us.”

Tohatchi girls’ basketball coach Tanisha Bitsoi believes that this is their year to finally walk down the Pit floor at the WisePies Arena on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque.

“Because of the experience they had with Tularosa last year, especially the seniors, they have that chip on their shoulder,” Bitsoi said. “They want to be there at the Pit and be playing in that last game.”

If the Cougars are able to accomplish that, it will continue a trend of sorts under Bitsoi’s watch. Since taking over the program in 2012, each year has been met with steady improvements.

In her first year as the head coach, Bitsoi’s team finished with a 3-21 overall record but since then, they have made making the state playoffs an annual rite. In the 2013-14 season, they made the Sweet Sixteen. The following year, they made it as far as Elite Eight before they ended last season in the state semifinals, losing to Tularosa by a 74-57 count.

“Our main goal and main focus for this group is to be in that state championship game,” Bitsoi said. “I believe we have the piece to do that.”

---