Area teams make Top 10 poll
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Newcomb junior Lethia Yazzie puts up a shot against the Shiprock Lady Chieftains on Saturday, Dec. 6. Newcomb is ranked No. 3 in the latest coach’s poll that was released on Tuesday.
WINDOW ROCK
The new coach’s poll in New Mexico’s Class 3A division has five teams from District 1-3A ranked in the top 10.
The coach’s poll was released on Tuesday and that list is headed by District 2-3A member Santa Fe Indian School, which owns a 9-2 record followed by Tohatchi (7-3) and Newcomb (8-2).
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
Navajo Prep senior Kameron Dale (left) dribbles the ball while being guarded by Chinle defender Taylor Jishie (0) during the Southwest Food Excellence Winter Classic on Saturday, Dec. 20. Navajo Prep is ranked No. 6 in the latest coach’s poll.
Las Vegas Robertson (6-3) is sitting fourth ahead of Crownpoint (7-3) and defending state champ Navajo Prep (6-4) is in sixth.
Dexter, a team from the southeast corner, is ranked No. 7 with an 8-4 record followed by Sandia Prep (6-1), Thoreau (6-5) and Santa Fe St. Michael’s (8-3).
“3A in New Mexico is going to be tough this year,” Navajo Prep coach Rainy Crisp said a recent interview with the Navajo Times. “You know, Tohatchi and Newcomb are playing great right now. The Santa Fe Indian and West Las Vegas district is tough, too, but I would have to say that we have the toughest district in the state.”
Navajo Prep opened the season losing to Shiprock 56-39 on Dec. 2. Since then, the Eagles has won seven of 10 games, which includes wins over Durango (34-31), Chinle (41-38) and New Mexico 5A school Volcano Vista (51-45).
“I do have a lot of underclassmen and I think we had first game jitters with Shiprock but that was good,” Crisp said. “Now that I look back, I think it was important for us to lose that game. You know, we’re the back-to-back state champs and so every team that we play is going to come out hard against us.
“We’ve been preaching that since preseason,” she said. “I think losing that game to Shiprock was a blessing in disguise because now it’s turn on the lights that we have to play hard for every game.”
Looking ahead to the district season, Crisp is expecting another dogfight as Crownpoint and Thoreau has also played some quality teams. Last month, Thoreau won the West Las Vegas tournament while Crownpoint placed third.
“I’m really excited to see how our district plays out,” Crisp said. “I mean, the teams in our district have played against some tough competition.”
Newcomb coach Nathan Brady, who previously coached at Ganado High, agreed that the northwest district is the strongest among the five 3A districts statewide.
“When I was coaching in Arizona, they said the best basketball was north of I-40,” Brady said. “It’s the same concept here in New Mexico. I mean, we have a very tough district with some very solid coaches from Rainy to coach (Tanisha) Bitsoi at Tohatchi.
“They have a new guy at Thoreau (Louis Bear Eagle) and Crownpoint has coach (Byron) Murphy, so I think from top to bottom we’re evenly matched.”
Brady said each team must bring their ‘A-game’ every night to succeed.
“If you don’t a lower seeded team can beat the higher seeded team,” he said. “You got to come in with the attitude of playing good defense, transitioning and communicating every night.”
In 4A girls, Gallup (9-1) and Kirtland Central (8-1) are 1-2 in the coach’s poll while the Farmington girls are ranked No. 4 in Class 5A.
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Highway 264,
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