MV girls focus on state playoffs

ALBUQUERQUE

In terms of where they finished in the state tournament last season, the Monument Valley Lady Cougars had a banner year.

The MV girls’ basketball team surprised a lot of people by finishing fourth in the Utah 1A state playoffs and finished the season with a 20-6 mark.

“The team goal is to get higher than fourth,” MV coach Terri James said. “We’re working really hard to be competitive with some of the top teams in 1A. We want to make ourselves better at what we do.”

According to James, the MV squad was ranked No. 3 in the Deseret News 1A statewide poll behind state powerhouses Panguitch and Wayne.

“That’s pretty impressive and the girls were, like, ‘I didn’t know we can be ranked that high,’” she said.

Earlier this season, the Cougars tested their mettle by playing the top-ranked team. Panguitch, however, pulled away with a 63-47 win over MV on Nov. 17.

“They are the reigning state champs,” James said of Panguitch. “We lost to them by (14) but it was way better than before.”

But playing Panguitch, she said it was a good measuring stick on what they need to work on.

“One of the major things they realized from that game is we need to be conditioned more,” she said. “We’ve been working hard at conditioning and for us to compete against some of the top teams in the state we need to run.”

Last season, MV finished second to Wayne in Region 19 play. James expects Wayne to be one of the top teams in the six-team conference, which also includes Pinnacle, Green River, Monticello, and Whitehorse.

“We’ve been watching a lot of other teams in our league,” she said “Whitehorse is looking good and they have a new coach there. Wayne is looking good, too.”

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