Eagles get revenge, edge ’Prep, 24-23

SHIPROCK

Following a buzzer-beating overtime loss to Navajo Prep on Feb. 16, the Crownpoint girls’ basketball team had plenty of motivation to turn the tables.

The Khadijha Jackson-coached team exacted some revenge as Crownpoint edged Navajo Prep 24-23 on Thursday night at Shiprock High School in the District 1-3A semifinals.

“This feels amazing,” said Jackson, whose team improved to 20-7 overall. “You know, we haven’t had this feeling in a real long time. The girls were ready for this and, yeah, that loss was on their minds because we got beat by a buzzer-beater.”

The narrow win sends No. 3 seed Crownpoint into Saturday’s championship game against top-seeded Tohatchi.

The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the Cougars home court, but the venue and time may be switched to Gallup High at 4 p.m. on Saturday as the championship game is expected to draw a large crowd.

“Because of capacity reasons they want to move it,” Tohatchi coach Tanisha Bitsoi said.

As of Friday morning, the game was still scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. in Tohatchi.

In Thursday’s semifinals, Crownpoint got the go-ahead basket from sophomore guard Tara Tsosie as she hit a wide open layup with 51 seconds left.

After a missed 3-point attempt by ’Prep, Crownpoint ran most of the clock out as they grabbed two boards, including an offensive one with 8.8 seconds left.

With that extra possession, the designated visiting Crownpoint team ran off six more seconds off before ’Prep sent Erin Etsitty to the free-throw line for a 1-and-1 opportunity.

Following the Crownpoint miss, the second-seeded Lady Eagles made one final attempt but the halfcourt heave by sophomore Aniya Johnson fell short.

“We knew going into this game it was going to be tough,” Navajo Prep coach Rainy Crisp said. “We beat them by a buzzer-beater at their place and they got us this time.

“It was a tough game, and you can’t take anything away from Crownpoint,” she added. “They came out and they played hard. They beat a good Thoreau team the other night and now us.

“They’re out to get that title.”

Early on it was Crisp’s team that was looking to make Saturday’s finals, getting out to an early 6-1 lead after a 2-point shot from senior guard Amber Garcia with 5:20 left in the opening quarter.

But behind a pair of baskets by senior forward Brianna Billie, Crownpoint closed that gap down to 7-5 heading into the second.

Crownpoint carried that momentum into the next quarter with senior guard Kaleigh Shorty draining two treys for a 17-11 halftime lead.

Much like the first half, points were hard to come by as ’Prep outscored Crownpoint 6 to 2 in the third to get within 19-17.

The Crisp-coached team regained the lead at 21-19 when Garcia hit two free throws with 6:49 to go.

With neither team giving up an inch on the defensive end there were two more lead changes before Tsosie hit the game winner with 51 ticks left.

Afterward, Jackson said the key to their success was limiting the duo threat of Amber Garcia and Aniya Johnson.

“The game plan was to lock down their key players,” she said.

Crisp agreed while adding that both players had to earn their points as Garcia finished with 10 and Johnson added seven.

“Crownpoint just played tough defense,” the Navajo Prep coach said. “The points that Aniya scored and the points that Amber scored, they had to work for those points.

“That is something that we want to do to other teams, which is make them work for points,” she added. “They just played some tough defense on us.”

For Crownpoint, Shorty finished with a team-best eight points while Billie added five.

Jackson said she’s excited that her team is playing in the district tournament championship game as Crownpoint enters Saturday’s game on a two-game winning streak.

“We’re playing our best ball right now,” she said. “It’s just gonna keep going on from here. They’re pushing and they’re motivated.”

With the loss, Navajo Prep dropped to 20-6 overall and they have to wait until the New Mexico Activities Association releases the state playoff brackets on Sunday for its next contest.

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