Friday, March 29, 2024

Valley, Rock Point girls to battle for Division V crown

Valley, Rock Point girls to battle for Division V crown
Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero Rock Point Lady Cougar Keandra Sam (15) drives the ball down the court Friday morning in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Rock Point Lady Cougar Keandra Sam (15) drives the ball down the court Friday morning in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz.

Not since 2008 has a Rock Point girls’ basketball team played in a state finals.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero Rock Point Lady Cougar Pashen Johnson (14) smiles Friday morning after winning the Arizona Division V semifinal game against the Greyhills Academy Lady Knights at the Prescott Valley Events Center in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Rock Point Lady Cougar Pashen Johnson (14) smiles Friday morning after winning the Arizona Division V semifinal game against the Greyhills Academy Lady Knights at the Prescott Valley Events Center in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

On Saturday the Cougars will play for the Division V state crown against section nemesis Sanders Valley as both teams advance in Friday’s semifinals. The Lady Cougars upended No. 10 seed Greyhills Academy by a 75-43 count while Valley outlasted San Carlos, 69-60, in a game of runs.

“I am excited about this,” Lady Cougar point guard Pashen Johnson said. “This is something new for us.”

Johnson said she was in the sixth grade when Rock Point made its first final eight years ago when that team went 23-4 under the direction of Melvin Arthur, the school’s athletic director.

Valley, meanwhile, has become a household name when it comes to playing in the final game of the season. The Pirates will be playing in its fifth championship game, including its third in the last four years as Valley has yet to win a state title.

With the number of runner-up trophies they have amassed Valley coach Dorothy Mitchell said its time for her squad to take that next step.

“They want this,” she said, while noting that her girls have looked at all the memorabilia in the past years.

“They have looked at all the pictures and all the uniforms,” she said. “They know how close we’ve come, so they want to push themselves in that next game.”

Reaching their fifth final, however, took some work on their part as the No. 4 seed San Carlos Lady Braves gave them all they could handle.

Behind an enthusiastic crowd, the Braves opened the second half on an 8-0 run and closed a 14-point halftime deficit down to 41-35.

Valley, however, stayed composed and regained control with 13-4 run to end the quarter. Senior Latisha Nastacio and freshman Valiyah Yazzie combined for 10 points in that rally as the Pirates built a 53-39 advantage.

“They were making all of their shots and layups,” Mitchell said of San Carlos. “We just got discombobulated there for awhile but we got it together.”

The Braves made one final push and got within 62-56 on a transition layup by Mariah Kozie with 1:47 to go.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero Sanders Valley Lady Pirates Cherelle Speen, second left, and teammate Latisha Nastacio (10) hug one another after winning the Division V semifinal game against the San Carlos Lady Braves Friday in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero
Sanders Valley Lady Pirates Cherelle Speen, second left, and teammate Latisha Nastacio (10) hug one another after winning the Division V semifinal game against the San Carlos Lady Braves Friday in Prescott Valley, Ariz.

“They were right on our back and it was nip and tuck,” Mitchell said. But “the girls love the competition. When they play teams like this they run with it. They would rather have competition than have an easy game.”

Early on Pirates got off to a 10-0 start but that was a bit misleading, which convinced Mitchell that playing San Carlos was somewhat of a championship game.

“I thought they were awesome and it felt like a championship game,” she said. “ We had a target on our back but we took care of the ball and we wanted to win.”

Nasticio finished with 21 and Yazzie added 20 to led Valley.

Kozie put up a game-best 24 points to pace San Carlos while Adrianna Haozous added 14.

In the other semifinal, the Cougars found the right balance on offense and defense as they had the support of the community. The school administrators closed the school on Friday so that they could attend the game.

After trailing 5-0 to start the game, Rock Point imposed it will on the defensive end. The Cougars pressured Greyhills into three consecutive turnovers to take the lead for good.

“Our defense plays a big role in what we do,” Rock Point coach Lorna Tsosie said. “The steals we get contributes to the points we make.”

Late in the quarter Rock Point nursed it lead to 18-11 on a basket by Johnson with 21 second left.

Greyhills, however, got a deep three from junior guard Danah Smith just as timed expired.

Smith added a couple of more buckets at the start of the second period but midway through the period she took the brunt of a nasty spill and had to be helped off the court. She did not return until the 5:54 mark of the third quarter as she got her team within 33-26.

Nonetheless, the Cougars closed out the quarter on an 18-9 run on the strength of Johnson’s six points for a 51-35 advantage.

That late spurt seemed to take the wind out of the Knight’s sail.

“The game got away from us,” Greyhills coach Tevin Tso. “We kept turning the ball over and defensively we weren’t there. We didn’t box out and our rebounding wasn’t there.”

Tso did acknowledge they had opportunities but they did not finish them.

Smith led the Knights as she put in 17 points while senior Devine Smith added 10.

Rock Point got a 28-point effort from Johnson, who hit four treys. Keandra Sam added 24.


 To read the full article, pick up your copy of the Navajo Times at your nearest newsstand Thursday mornings!

Are you a digital subscriber? Read the most recent three weeks of stories by logging in to your online account.

  Find newsstand locations at this link.

Or, subscribe via mail or online here.




About The Author

Quentin Jodie

Quentin Jodie is the Sports Editor for the Navajo Times. He started working for the Navajo Times in February 2010 and was promoted to the Sports Editor position at the end of summer in 2012. Previously, he wrote for the Gallup Independent. Reach him at qjodie@navajotimes.com

ADVERTISEMENT

Weather & Road Conditions

Window Rock Weather

Partly Cloudy

38.0 F (3.3 C)
Dewpoint: 24.1 F (-4.4 C)
Humidity: 57%
Wind: South at 4.6 MPH (4 KT)
Pressure: 29.95

More weather »

ADVERTISEMENT