Thursday, March 28, 2024

Division V girls state playoffs

Division V girls state playoffs

Area North teams advance to Elite 8

PRESCOTT, Ariz.

The competition the North teams faced earlier this year is paying dividends for the teams representing Division V, Section I at this year’s Arizona state girls basketball tournament.

Red Mesa, Rough Rock, St. Michael and Valley all advanced into the Elite 8 after last weekend’s first and second round games.

“You have to look at the competition in the north,” St. Michael coach Bill McLaughlin said. “The style of play is different from what you see in the south. Everybody plays everybody extremely tough up there and it gets us ready for the state tournament.”

McLaughlin’s team earned its spot with a 56-39 win over No. 9 seed St. David.

“We won, we survived and we advanced,” said McLaughlin, who felt that his team lacked discipline in the opening half.

“I think we had 11 turnovers in that first half,” he said. “We didn’t do a very good job. Our point guard Iyona (Freeland) got into foul trouble but she did a good job in the second and kept herself out of foul trouble.”

At the half the Cardinals led 30-17 but they broke the game open with 15 points in the third quarter for a 45-25 cushion.

“We came out of the locker room with a lot of energy,” McLaughlin said. “We did a good job of taking care of the ball. I thought our man defense was aggressive early and it made a difference and we got up by 20.”

The Cardinals had three players in double figures sophomore post Delila Nakaidinae leading the way with 17 points while Chael Moore and Hunter Begaye finished with 13 each.

St. Michael will face top-seed Valley at 7:30 p.m. today at the Yavapai Community College in Prescott. Earlier this year, St. Michael dropped a 70-50 decision to the Lady Pirates.

“They are very athletic and they beat some really good 3A North teams,” McLaughlin said of the Pirates. “We’ll come back next week and give it our best effort.”

Valley coach Dorothy Mitchell said St. Michael has improved and she is expecting a tough challenge in today’s matchup.

“They are a different team,” Mitchell said. “They have their two players back and I watched them a little bit and they look decent.”

In their second round game, the 25-1 Pirates held the Gregory School to three points in the third quarter and coasted to a 61-30 victory.

“We just made our layups,” Mitchell said of the difference. “We just could not make them in the first half.”

 


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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

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