Cardinals take win over Fredonia

NEWCOMB, N.M.

In the second of two doubleheaders on Saturday, the St. Michael basketball teams hosted the Fredonia Lynx at Newcomb High School.

Earlier in the day, the Cardinals played El Capitan with the girls winning and the boys coming up short.

In the Fredonia game, the visiting team took the first possession and Mikelle Waters scored the first baskets eight second into the game.

The Lady Lynx would make two more baskets before Gabriella Simpson made St. Michael’s first score with a free throw.

However, in the last two minutes the Lady Cardinals made a huge recovery. Jalin Perry made the first 3-pointer of the game for the Lady Cardinals, followed by a basket from Kaylynn Smith. A steal by Simpson handed Perry back the ball and she made another 3-pointer before Cameron Hanley ended the period with a basket.

The first quarter ended 11-6 for the Lady Cardinals with Jalin Perry hitting two 3-pointers.

In the next period, Fredonia fired back with Kayleise Tait making the Lady Lynx first 3-pointer, but the Lady Cardinals remained strong and pushed through with their teamwork and five steals, keeping well ahead of the Lady Lynx.

Smith ended the period with a 3-pointer at the 9-second mark of the quarter. Tait led Fredonia in scoring with her 3-pointer, while Smith led St. Michaels with a basket and a 3-pointer.

The first half of the game belonged to St. Michaels leading with a 25-11 margin.

In the second half, Fredonia led this time with five steals and were able to make some shots, however St. Michaels maintained their momentum and continued to outscore the Lady Lynx.

Mikelle Waters had 6 of the 11 points scored by Fredonia. For the Lady Cardinals, Smith led again with a 3-pointer and a basket, making 5 of St. Michael’s 14 points score and taking third quarter 34-22.

During the fourth quarter the Lady Cardinals started to run out of steam and were having trouble making shots. The Lady Lynx took advantage of this and raced to make up for lost time, quickly catching up to the Lady Cardinal’s score with a mix of baskets and free throws. Waters led the score with two baskets and two free throws. For the Lady Cardinals no points were made except for Simpson who made three free throw shots.

St. Michaels was able to hang on, ending the game with a 37-33 win.

It was a close win, but Lady Cardinals coach Carl Adam said his team played well. All week he said his team have been training hard, getting ready for state. Playing a double-header like this helps to teach the team to play tired.

“We didn’t play our fullest potential but that’s fine,” he said while adding that he would rather have his second string players get in some minutes than pulling out a 30-point win.

“There is a benefit to that,” he said. “(It’s) proving to everybody that what’s going to happen when it comes down to you, and not everyone is playing well and being able to back one another up. We didn’t play well, but we saw improvement.”

“We made our adjustment and made sure they didn’t make a score towards the end and just played smart basketball and kept up the lead and stay in the lead.”

Currently, the Lady Cardinals are ranked No. 2 in the 1A North and No. 7 in the state. Adams said as long as they continue to work and improve as a team, he can see them making it to the final four at the championships of even the finals itself.

Boys

The boys game started with St. Michaels taking the first possession, but it was Fredonia’s Geovanni Rocha who made the first shot and 3-pointer before the end of the first minute. Dustin Johnson made the first basket for the Cardinals, but was almost drowned out by Lynx Paul Woods, Brayden Ford and Rocha making 3-pointers.

The Cardinals responded halfway through the period with Trey Holgate making two 3-pointers within seconds. His two treys were followed by a 3-pointer from Sayshon Dalgai.

The Lynx led 19-16 with Rocha making two 3-pointers while Holgate and Dalgai both tied with the most points with two 3-pointers.

In the second period, Dalgai started the quarter with a 3-pointer and the Cardinals raced to catch up with the Lynx. Fredonia tried to stem the flow, but at the three-minute mark, the Cardinals took the lead 24-21. By the end of the quarter, St. Michael’s maintained the lead with 34-21.

Lynx Lochlin Brown was able to break through the defense and made a basket for Fredonia while Cardinal Dalgai led again with two 3-pointers and Matthew Yazzie making six points as well.

At the start of the second half, the Cardinals kept up the pressure, making four steals and making multiple shots, including a 3-pointer from Holgate.

Later, a foul was made against Holgate and he was awarded a technical shot, allowing him to make one of two shots.

St. Michael’s took the third quarter, leading 49-24 headed by Holgate’s nine points in the period.

In the fourth, Fredonia briefly recovered from its dry spell and Trayshawn Ford made a 3-pointer. This was answered by Matthew Yazzie’s own 3-pointer before the game devolved into fast pace shooting action.

It became so intense a player lost their shoe after falling and running. Cardinal Mattias Yazzie would make the last shot of the game with a free throw and ending it 67-34 for the Cardinals.

Lynx Treyshaewn Ford led the team nine points.

For St. Michael, Holgate finished with 19 points. Dalgai added 15 and Matthew Yazzie had 11.

Cardinals coach Joshua Thompson was happy with the boy’s performance even though they were tired from their previous game against El Capitan.

“They were a little sluggish, they played very well, they picked it up in the second half, so that gave our second group more time to play,” he said. “And our second group played very well and our first string picked up again and hit their shots. They had a tough game the first game so it was a good for them to come out and hit some shots that didn’t come through the first game.”

Currently the Cardinals are ranked No. 2 in the 1A North region, and despite their shaky beginning of the season, Thomas said the boys are determined and understands what it’s going to take to reach their goals of the season. Regardless, they plan to finish this year strong.

Thomas also thanked the parents who came to the game for following COVID-19 precautions, the school for following such precautions and all the fans who supported the Cardinals by watching the game online.

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