Lady Pirates upend Many Farms, earn No. 2 seed in region tournament

SANDERS, Ariz. – With a chip on their shoulders, the Valley Lady Pirates upended Many Farms, 48-37, during Senior Night on Monday evening.

The Pirates received 15 points from junior forward Trinity Mitchell and 11 from senior guard Mishayla Robertson as Valley earned the No. 2 seed for this week’s upcoming 2A North Region tournament.

Valley was coming off a surprising road loss to Piñon on Saturday night as the Lady Eagles won 66-63.

Longtime Valley coach Dorothy Mitchell noted a difference between the two aforementioned game as the Pirates capped the regular season with a 10-8 record, which includes a 5-2 mark in 2A North play.

“I think a lot of it has to do with desire,” the Valley coach said. “We just had that desire and passion to play basketball (tonight) after losing to Piñon. So tonight, they were more energetic in this game.

“I don’t know if it was the long drive to Piñon, but we played like we were tired,” she added. “Today, we were OK. We were on target, and I need them to play like that all the time.”

Trinity Mitchell, the coach’s granddaughter, nailed a pair of 3s in the opening quarter with her second one earning the Pirates a 10-6 cushion with six seconds left.

After a nip-and-tuck quarter, Valley started to pull away as Trinity Mitchell’s third trey sparked a 12-3 run for the Pirates.

“I just got myself hyped up, and when I get hyped I feel like I can hit every shot,” the Valley guard said of her early offensive tear.

With Many Farms (11-6, 4-3) slowing her down, Valley had others pick up the slack with Robertson scoring six points while junior Odessa Begay nailed 4-of-4 free throws.

At the break, Valley led 24-12 at the break.

The Pirates pushed their lead to as much as 17 points (30-13) midway through the third quarter as Valley was going after every loose ball, which resulted in numerous alternating possessions.

“We were getting dirty in there, and I told them that you got to get dirty,” Dorothy Mitchell said. “You got to get rough and tough and play basketball. And that’s what they did. They did the work.”

Many Farms first-year coach Kahia Lemothe lamented on her team’s lack of intensity. For most of the game, her team appeared to be one step behind Valley.

“They were hustling, and they were outworking us,” Lemothe said of the Pirates. “I mean, my girls didn’t just come in, you know, wanting to win the game. They came in thinking that, ‘Oh, we’re No. 18 (in the state rankings) and they’re No. 16 and it should be easy.’

“Nothing in the north is easy because everyone’s inconsistent. It’s anyone’s game and if you don’t show up, they can take a game away from you. It’s simple as that.”

Despite trailing by double-digits, Many Farms did rally as they closed the 17-point gap down to 31-27 late in the third behind senior forward Jillian Begay’s five points.

That was as close as Many Farms would get as Valley went on 12-2 run to open up a 43-29 cushion with 2:32 left in the contest after a made 3 from Trinity Mitchell.

That cushion was enough for Valley to turn back Many Farms.

“We went on a run, and we had a great spark,” Lemothe said. “But it was holding onto that spark and being able to close it out. It’s something that we’ve been struggling with.”

And while Valley found some success with its shot making, the Lady Lobos struggled in that department as Many Farms missed a ton of bunnies right underneath the basket.

“We had some looks, and we had some lanes open, but we missed the putbacks, the fast breaks and some easy layups,” Lemothe said. “You know, the most underrated shot is the layup. Everyone thinks it’s the easiest shot in the world, but once you go full speed and you miss it, you’re like ‘Why did I miss that? And how did I miss that?

“And when they miss, it gets into their heads,” she added. “If you’re not mentally strong it can affect your game. It happens to every single player, not only at this level but at the professional level, too.”

Begay led Valley with 13 points while senior guard Lavonna Ben and sophomore Kenzie Bahe chipped in eight and seven, respectively.

“What I look for in every game is for everyone to score,” Lemothe said. “I want it to be evenly distributed. I want it to be distributed not amongst just three people because basketball is not an individual sport, it’s a team sport. It can’t be on one person’s shoulder, especially offensively.

“I was hoping Raylene (Harvey), Jillian, Kenzie, Lavonna and Neveah (Wilson) would score,” Lemothe said. “Everyone could score if they wanted to. Tonight, their mentality wasn’t there.”

On Thursday, both teams are scheduled to open the region tournament by hosting first round games. The fourth-seeded Many Farms team will entertain No. 5 Hopi, a team they beat 39-37 on Saturday, Feb. 1.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Lemothe said. “It’s gonna be tough one. I already know that, and nothing is going to be easy. We just beat Hopi by two, and Hopi is wanting to come back and beat us, so it’s anybody’s game. I just hope we show out.”

Valley, meanwhile, hosts No. 7 Northland Prep.

“I think we can make the championship game,” Trinity Mitchell said of the region tournament. “I honestly think that we can take it.”

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