Crownpoint girls make noise in district tournament run

WINDOW ROCK

The state playoffs will commence on Friday, but the madness got started last week during the District 1-3A girls’ tournament.

No. 3 seed Crownpoint knocked off the leagues’ top two teams en route to the tournament title to improve to 21-7 overall.

Crownpoint edged No. 2 Navajo Prep 24-23 on Feb. 24, and on Saturday, the Lady Eagles pulled away from Tohatchi with a 44-28 win.

“I honestly think my girls played extremely well,” Crownpoint coach Khadijha Jackson said. “You know, our big topic of the night was probably our defense because we knew what we were going up against. We’ve seen them twice before in the district.

“They were missing Brooke (Badonie), but my girls took advantage of that,” she added. “Our defense was a big part of our success on Saturday.”

After leading 24-18 at the break, the Eagles watched Tohatchi build momentum as the Cougars scored the first seven points of the second half for a 25-24 edge on a basket Kiana Bia.

But in a stunning turn of events, Crownpoint outscored the district’s top seed 20 to 3 the rest of the way in its 16-point win.

“Crownpoint got on a roll,” said Tohatchi coach Tanisha Bitsoi, whose team dropped to 20-7 overall. “They came to play, they were hungry, and they wanted to win the district tournament championship, so hats off to them.

“We just didn’t shoot the ball very well, like we normally do,” she added. “Obviously, when they’re making shots, that changes the whole dynamic of the game. Crownpoint was pretty on point with their shooting, and they just kicked our butts.

“I feel like we couldn’t buy a bucket on our end. We were just out of sync, and we didn’t do the little things we were supposed to do.”

Statistically, Bitsoi said, that was their worst showing this year.

“I think that was the most turnovers we’ve had all season,” she said. “It was loud, and it was packed, and the environment was not something they’re used to. We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and it seemed like the environment threw them off their game.”

Senior Erin Etsitty led Crownpoint with 11 points while teammate Brianna Billie chipped in 10. The Eagles also got eight points from Kaleigh Shorty and seven from Chaylynn Begay.

For Tohatchi, Marisa Denetso scored a team-best nine points, and Bia added eight.

“I really think the girls knew what type of mentality they needed to win the district tournament,” Jackson said. “But honestly, they surprised me. They surprised me on how well they worked together, and they just kept going from there.”

The district tournament run, Jackson said, helped her team to a No. 5 seed for this week’s state playoffs that start on Friday.

The Eagles will host No. 12 Tucumcari at 6 p.m.

“I was thinking that we were going to get the sixth seed,” Jackson said.

The Crownpoint coach said the visiting Lady Rattlers have some speed and size as Tucumcari enters Friday’s contest with a 13-10 record.

“They do have three decent shooters, and their post players are big,” Jackson said. “For me, it’s going to be the girls’ heart rather than them worrying about their height.

“They’re pretty quick too, but we’ve seen similar teams like that within our district,” she said.

On their side of the draw, No. 4 Navajo Prep will host No. 13 Santa Fe St. Michael’s, while Thoreau will host Zuni in an 8-9 matchup.

With the higher seed hosting, Friday’s winners will advance into the state quarterfinals.

As the regular season district champion, Tohatchi earned the No. 2 seed.

“I’m pleased with the seedings,” Bitsoi said. “It’s great to have a good seed like that, but at the same time, everyone is playing hard right now; everyone is playing for the same destination, which is the state title game.

“We have to remain hungry, humble, and continue to play Lady Cougar basketball,” she added.

Tohatchi will entertain No. 15 Cuba, a team they beat 72-50 before the Christmas break.

“We have an idea of how they play,” Bitsoi said of the Lady Rams. “They’re a feisty team, and they play hard, so we’re both aware of each other.”

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