KC girls looking to defend tournament at Page
Navajo Times | Krista Allen
Monument Valley’s Keiryn Mann drives to the hoop against the guarding Kirtland Central players Hailey Jackson (10) and Keira Beall-Gleason at the Page girls basketball tournament in this file photo from last year. The Kirtland girls are looking to defend its tournament title.
WINDOW ROCK – Since taking over the Kirtland Central girls basketball program six years ago, Devon Manning has started each season by having his team compete in the Page holiday tournament, which is billed as the Page High School Antelope Canyon Holiday Classic.
Last season, the Lady Broncos captured their first title at the annual tournament, which is in its 45th year.
Kirtland Central begins its title defense tonight with Kingman Lee Williams at 6:30 p.m.
“It’s the first game of the year,” Manning said. “The only disadvantage that we have is a lot of those schools have been practicing for a while now, getting some games under their belts. “We’ve barely had a week into practice, but we’re not going to use that as an excuse,” he said.
Manning said the Page tournament features some quality teams as the Lady Broncos will be matched up with either Monument Valley or Montezuma Cortez (Colorado) in the next round.
“It’s always a fun tournament,” Manning said. “They have a bunch of good teams that always show up there so it’s good competition.”
The KC coach returns a few core players that finished second to Gallup in last season’s Class 4A state title game. That team racked up an impressive 29-4 overall record.
“We have a good blend of experience and youth,” Manning said. “I think we may have some struggles early on, but overall I’m excited about the team we have.”
Manning said his new players are still adjusting to how his teams plays, but once they get on board he expects them to pick up where they left off.
“We’ll get into that flow of playing with each other,” he said. “You know, I think we’re gonna be very quick this year. We do have some size, but we’re not super big.
“But we got a lot of fast girls,” he added. “This might be one of my faster teams that I’ve had since I’ve been at Kirtland.”
And while it’s early, the KC coach is looking to keep a watchful eye on some of the top 4A programs in the state.
“I think St. Pius and Artesia are gonna be good,” Manning said. “Valencia is going to be good, too. Obviously, we also got Gallup and Bloomfield within our district and we have to battle them at least twice this year.”
In addition to the Page tournament, KC is also entered in the Moriarty tournament, which starts Dec. 14.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow