Tough losses end season

The Many Farms girls' and boys' basketball teams had great runs this season but fell short at the 2A state tournament.

"It's a tough loss," girls coach Tracey Todacheene said. "Anytime you come to state and you lose something like this, it really hurts. The girls were taking it hard."

"I'm proud of them. They came and proved that they can play," boys coach Alistair Mountz said. "When we put our minds together, we're a real good team and when you're as good as anyone on the reservation, you're as good as anyone in state and that's a good feeling."

Girls

At Deer Valley High School, No. 6 Many Farms trailed throughout the game Feb. 20 against No. 3 Pima and had a chance to win in the fourth quarter but lost, 42-34.

According to Todacheene and Pima coach Brad Hemphill, the game was decided in the first half.

"I sure hated to end this way, but somebody had to win this game," Todacheene said. "They (Many Farms) fought well. We didn't respond well in the first half and I think that's where we ended up losing the game."

"We knew that they like to run, press and play pressure defense," Hemphill said. "We knew that they had some real good players.

"We knew that there would be a match-up battle," he said, "because we were a little bit taller and they a little bit faster, but we did enough in the first half to make the difference."

Many Farms trailed at the half, 31-13. The Lady Lobos came out with a different defensive look in the third quarter, switching from a zone defense to a man-to-man, which shut down Pima's offense and held them to zero points in the quarter.

"Finally I decided to go man-to-man because they were really scoring points off the zone," Todacheene said. "We weren't adjusting quick enough and I made the decision with coach Clah and to go man-to-man. From that point on, our man-to-man came through."

"I told the girls at halftime that the only way Many Farms can come back is if we help them," Hemphill said. "I think the difference was the first half when we played Pima basketball, then in the second half we played Many Farms' game and it almost cost us."

Not only was it a nightmare quarter for Pima, but also for Many Farms with missed opportunities at the free-throw line, around the basket and not converting off Pima's turnovers.

In the third, Many Farms scored eight points and was 1-of-6 at the free-throw line. Pima missed eight shots and was 0-for-2 at the foul line.

Pima led 31-21 at the end of the third.

In the fourth quarter, Many Farms narrowed the gap to eight, 31-23, on Chantel Becenti's two free throws. But Pima's 6-1 post, Kitt Bryce, finally scored for a 33-23 lead.

Many Farms countered with a Becenti basket. She was fouled but missed the free throw. Pima kept the lead, 33-25.

Pima increased the lead to 12 points midway through the quarter, while Many Farms missed three straight free throws. The score was 39-27.

With under a minute left, Many Farms cut the lead to five points, 39-34, on Rhonda Belinte's layup.

But Many Farms turned the ball over in the closing seconds and Pima would secure the win with three free throws.

"I told them that we're not going into the fourth quarter without scoring," Hemphill said. "I told them that defensively we gave up only eight points in the third quarter. I just told them to win the quarter, win the quarter. That was the message, just win the fourth quarter."

Many Farms outscored Pima 13-11 in the final quarter.

"We made a run a couple of times, but unfortunately we didn't finish," Todacheene said. "And I think we got tired at the end. But for the most part, we didn't finish off on their turnovers."

Belinte led Many Farms with 12 points, Brittny Clah finished with 11 and Becenti added 10.

"We had a great season, I can tell you that," Todacheene said. "I give them all the compliments to our girls. They played an excellent season. We went further than I expected. This is the first time that we won one game and moved into the quarterfinals."

Many Farms finished 19-7.

Boys

In the closing minutes of game between No. 24 Many Farms and No. 8 Benson, free throws cost the Lobos a 48-44 loss Feb. 19 during the second round of the 2A state tournament.

"We missed six free throws in the fourth quarter and nine all together and we lost by four," Mountz said. "Yeah! It was a major difference."

Many Farms led throughout the game until the last minute.

"We went man-to-man for one critical position, but we left one guy wide open," Mountz said. "So we just kind of fell apart for the last three minutes in the fourth quarter.

"I thought we were a better team," Mountz added. "Our shooting was a lot better. We shot 50 percent for the game, but when it came down to crunch time, those last few minutes we just couldn't hold it together."

To reach the second round, Many Farms, defeated Phoenix Country Day in the first round, 71-55, on Feb. 16.

Many Farms was led by Garriot James with 20 points. Jon James added 9.

Many Farms shot 46 percent from the field and were out-rebounded, 17 to 6.

Many Farms finished the season 12-14.

Back to top ^