Ganado explodes in mid-game rally to best Window Rock

WINDOW ROCK

Better late than never.

That is an apt description for the Ganado girls’ basketball team following their championship win at the 12-team Sedona Invitational.

The Lady Hornets trailed Window Rock 18-10 at the break in the title game last Saturday before exploding for 27 points to post a 37-32 win over the Lady Scouts.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well in that first half,” Ganado coach Mike Bitsuie said. “We played much better in the second half. We put together a run in the third quarter and we chipped away.”

In that third stanza, Ganado trailed 30-26 and in the fourth they stepped it up a notch on the defensive end and held Window Rock to only two points in the final eight minutes.

“We played good ‘D’ and we shut them down,” Bitsuie said. “Offensively, we started making shots.”

Ganado had three players in double figures with Abigail Benally, Jaedin James and Jayla McIntosh scoring 10 points apiece.

Bitsuie said it took them awhile to get going as they had some early foul trouble. With some key players saddled on the bench the Ganado coach had to use his reserves.

“They did a good job of playing defense and keeping us in the game,” Bitsuie said of his reserves. “Window Rock could have easily built a big lead on us and pulled away but they (reserves) kept us within striking distance.”

Bitsuie said their foul count put them in a bind but he was real proud with how they responded.

“The girls battled and we came back,” he said. “We showed that we have grit and toughness so that was a positive.”

In pool play action Ganado went 3-0 by beating Phoenix Maryvale (62-27), El Mirage Dysart (69-31) and Chino Valley (69-25).

“Some of the teams were obviously bigger than us,” Bitsuie said of their earlier games in pool play. “We tried to use our speed and quickness to our advantage. I thought we ran our zone offense pretty well.”

With some teams opting to man up on Ganado, Bitsuie said they did a good job of sharing and pushing the ball.

“The girls were looking for each other,” he said. “They just executed.”

After pool play action the top seeds were placed in the championship bracket with the Scouts pitted against Valley Christian while Ganado played Scottsdale Christian.

Window Rock advanced into the title game by outlasting Valley Christian by a 37-32 count while Ganado cruised by Scottsdale Christian 56-24.

Admittedly, Bitsuie said his team was only up by 10 at the half before pulling away in their match with Scottsdale Christian.

“They’re pretty good, they’re a big physical team,” Bitsuie said of the defending 2A state champs. “We just executed very well and we pretty much our shots. We got a lot of scoring from most of our players.”

Bitsuie said playing in the Sedona tournament was a good experience as he hopes to build on this.

“We need to continue to work hard and get better,” he said.

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