Lady Cougars silence doubters, end state tourney 4th

RICHFIELD, Utah

At the start of the Utah Class 1A girls’ state basketball tournament, no one expected the Monument Valley Lady Cougars to be a factor in this year’s playoffs.

Based on past results Monument Valley was expected to bow out of the tournament early. But after two days of competition those doubters had to re-evaluate their thinking as the Cougars finished a respectable fourth during the weeklong event.

“This is the first team that I’ve been told that has gotten this far in this tournament,” Monument Valley coach Terri James said. “They have never placed in this tournament before so I am real proud of them.”

Monument Valley won their first two state playoffs games and advanced to the Final Four before they dropped their last two at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield, Utah.

“I am real happy and proud of the girls,” Monument Valley junior post Ervianne Cly said. “We came together and we actually placed. To be the first rez team to do that from Utah is pretty amazing.”

In the opening round of the tournament, the Lady Cougars defeated Orderville Valley in overtime by a 55-53 count.

James said fatigue played a factor in their two-point win over Valley as they were coming off a six-hour bus ride to Richfield.

“We just came off the bus and we started to play,” she said. “The girls were tired but they pulled it off. They came together and won that game.”

Admittedly, James said she was too busy coaching that game and she didn’t realize they had won until she saw her girls celebrating.

“All year the girls never really cheered,” she said. “They’re very humble and when we won the girls came off the bench and the ones on the floor were jumping up and down.”

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