Experienced Hornets sharpening their sting

WINDOW ROCK

With a good mixture of returnees and young talent, the Ganado girls’ basketball team is hoping to be a factor in the Class 3A.

The Lady Hornets return eight players that have varsity experience from last year’s 21-11 team that made it as far as the 3A state quarterfinals.

“Our main goal is to win the state championship,” Ganado coach Mike Bitsuie said. “It is going to be tough but a real possibility with the amount experience and talent we have.”

For them to do that, Bitsuie said they need to be a defense-minded team.

“Our defense has to be consistent,” he said. “It has to be our identity.”

On Tuesday night, the Hornets used its defense and posted a 61-22 win over Pinon in a nonconference game and improved to 2-0 overall.

“We have pretty good depth so we were wore them down,” said Bitsuie, who added that they outscored the Lady Eagles 42 to 4 in the second and third quarter.

“We started slow but our defense intensity was there the whole game,” he said.

Offensively, Bitsuie said his team is very versatile, from guards to forwards.

“They are ready to make their mark,” he said of his squad.

The fourth-year coach returns two senior starters – Amber James and Janaya McIntosh – from last year’s team.

“We will depend on them a lot, especially on the defensive end,” Bitsuie said. “They are our anchors and they will hold the back end for us. They are very capable of putting up big numbers on the offensive end as well.”

On Tuesday night, both players led the team with James finishing with a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards while McIntosh finished with 11 points.

Jefawn Eskeets, Bitsuie said, is another senior that is going to help out the team.

“She worked very hard in the summer,” he said of Eskeets. “She is an outstanding shooter and she improved a lot on her game.”

Bitsuie said senior Camille Uentillie, sophomore Jayla McIntosh and senior Lujuana Louis saw plenty of action last year and they are expected to contribute immediately. Sophomore Deana Curley and freshman guard Abigail Benally are two other players that Bitsuie will have in his arsenal in the backcourt.

“We have depth at the 1 and 2 guard positions so it will be a battle when it comes to playing time,” he said.

The Hornets should also be solid in the post position with sophomore Michelene Coleman and junior Jamika Coleman returning although they are both coming back from injuries.

Michelene sat out this past fall due to a foot injury.

“Michelene has been working hard trying to get back and I am not going to rush her,” Bitsuie said. “She is coming along right now, focusing a lot of condition and getting back into playing shape. She brings toughness and rebounding.”

As for her older sister, Bitsuie said Jamika was playing very well for them last season but she was sidelined due to a knee injury.

“She brings quickness and athleticism at the small forward position,” he said.

With a relatively experienced group, Bitsuie said they should have no problem meshing together.

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