In big upset, To’hajiilee defeats No. 1 Animus
Navajo Times | Donovan Quintero To’hajiilee guard Erynn Montehermoso dribbles through Pine Hill’s defense in this file photo. The Lady Warriors upset No. 1 seed Animas in the Class 1A bracket. To’hajiilee plays No. 4 seed Melrose on Friday at Bernalillo High School at 5:30 p.m.
WINDOW ROCK
In the biggest upset on Tuesday night, the To’hajiilee Lady Warriors ousted top seed Animas in the girls 1A bracket.
To’hajiilee came in as the No. 8 seed, but that didn’t matter as the Warriors advanced into Friday’s semifinals with a 46-37 win.
“It really hasn’t sunk in yet,” first-year To’hajiilee coach Thomas Sullivan said. “I think it’s gonna take the whole night to process. We’re just kind of, you know, in shock that we pulled it off.”
Nonetheless, Sullivan said they went into Tuesday’s game with nothing to lose.
“I told the girls it’s just a number,” he said of the state seedings. “They were No. 1 on paper and all the pressure was on them, so we went out there and played with nothing to lose.”
Beforehand, Sullivan said they watched film on the Lady Panthers and he felt that they matched up with them very well.
“We looked at their film and they had two really good players and it really dropped off after that,” he said. “And for us, we’re a well-rounded team. We have five good starters that averages anywhere from 5 to 14 points.
“We just had play within ourselves and worry about each other,” he said.
Sullivan cited the play of junior Cadence Secatero, who started off hot and scored 11 of her 12 points in the first and second quarter.
“She carried us through probably the first 12 minutes of the game,” he said. “She set the tone and then everybody upped their game into what she was doing.”
The Warriors also got a dozen points from senior guard Erynn Montehermoso, 11 from junior Donata Secatero and nine from junior post Alyce Apachito.
“I’m just proud of the girls,” Sullivan said. “We went into that game confident and I knew that we could pull it off. They played well, and they played within themselves and pulled out the upset.”
The To’hajiilee coach added that the team went 14-of-16 at the free throw line – it’s best effort this season.
“That really helped us,” he said. “In game like that we preach that we have to hit them all.”
To’hajiilee will play No. 4 seed Melrose on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Bernalillo High. The winner of that game will play in Saturday’s title game, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Pit in Albuquerque.
“We’re going to celebrate this tonight because we still have work to do,” Sullivan said.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow