New Window Rock coach hoping for promising season

GALLUP

First-year coach Gabrielle Whitney likes what she sees in her Window Rock girls’ basketball team.

Whitney said the Lady Scouts have the means to challenge for a 3A North Region title, as well as make a deep run in the Arizona state playoffs.

“Honestly, I do see a lot of potential,” she said. “I see a lot skills, and I see a lot of talent and athleticism so I have high expectations for these girls.”

With some considerable length, Whitney said her club is going to be hard to defend once they have everything in order.

“We’re still working on speed,” she said. “We want to get up and down the court and it’s a style that I’m really comfortable with.

“I do believe we’ll have a pretty good squad once we get everything down, from our communication to our team chemistry,” she added. “I believe we can go a long way with these girls.”

At the recent Gallup Invite last week the Scouts went 2-1 as they took home the third-place trophy after beating the Gallup JV team on Saturday.

“With it being our first tournament I think we did pretty good,” Whitney said. “You know, we’re coming back from a pandemic so I wasn’t sure what to expect but I’m really happy with their performance.

“We still have things to work on but it’s just the little things,” she said. “Once we fix them I think we’re going to be up there with the big teams like Gallup.”

The Scouts opened the three-day tournament by outlasting Tohatchi 60-46 as they advanced to play Gallup, the host team.

The Whitney-coached team, however, was on the wrong end of a 67-52 decision in last Friday’s semis as Gallup went on to win the tournament with a 57-30 win over Piedra Vista.

“I knew they were going to test us,” the Window Rock coach said of the Bengals. “We did hang with them and I’m really proud of my girls on how they performed in all three games.”

Whitney said the Gallup team exposed some flaws, specifically on the defense end.

“We have to work on getting back and working through screens,” she said.

“They pretty much exposed a lot of things we have to work on,” she said. “It really comes down to fundamentals.”

Whitney said the 3A North is going to be no picnic, as the rest of the field has a legitimate shot of hoisting the region title. The region includes Alchesay, Chinle, Monument Valley, Tuba City, Page and Window Rock.

“This is the toughest conference that you can be in,” she said. “There is not going to be any easy teams in our conference. They’re going to be tough and they’re going to be ready every single game, so we have to bring our ‘A’ game.”

Since taking over the program, Whitney said the transition has been smooth as her athletes are grasping her ideas and philosophy of basketball.

“I’m a coach that likes to run a man-to-man,” she said. “I think for some it’s new to them but they’re catching on. I’ve seen a lot of improvements, especially on defense.

“I’m looking forward to the upcoming season,” she added. “With it being my first year I’m just very thankful for Window Rock giving me this opportunity.

“I don’t want to let them down, so I’m giving it my all every single day,” she said.

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