Giving chase
Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero Page Lady Sand Devil Myka Taliman (20) keeps Tuba City Lady Warrior Jayda Chee at bay on Monday during the Class 3A girls’ basketball quarterfinals game in Prescott Valley, Arizona. Page toppled the Lady Warriors, 66-34, to advance to the semifinal game and will play the Chinle Lady Wildcats on Friday at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona at 1:45 p.m.
Page, Chinle girls one step away from title game
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz.
The Prescott Valley Event Center served as a reunion of sorts for the 3A North girls basketball teams on Monday.
Of the eight state quarterfinalists, six were from the north, including five in the aforementioned conference.
Chinle coach Pete Butler said the strength of the conference was overwhelming this year.
“It was real strong,” he said. “It’s too bad we had four 3A North teams in the bottom bracket, knocking each other out.”
In addition to Butler’s team, the Page Lady Sand Devils advanced into the Final Four round at the 2017 Arizona Class 3A girls state basketball tournament. Both teams earned wins over squads they’re very familiar with.
Page had a monster second half to post a 66-34 win over Tuba City while Chinle rallied past Ganado, 46-42.
On Friday, both teams will battle it out at the Gila River Arena for the right to play in Saturday’s championship game. Tipoff for Friday’s game is set for 1:45 p.m. The championship game is slated for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
With a 21-16 halftime lead, the Sand Devils neutralized Tuba City’s chances en route to their 32-point win.
“In the first half we played their style of basketball,” Page coach Ryan Whitehorse said of Tuba City. “We can’t play rez ball.”
Whitehorse said the philosophy behind Page basketball revolves around defense and discipline.
“I thought we did a better job in that in the second half,” he said. “We came out strong and we were more confident with our abilities.”
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