Newcomb almost guaranteed a home playoff game

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Feb 27, 2020 | Basketball |

WINDOW ROCK

With a 22-4 overall record, Newcomb girls’ basketball has made some serious progress under second-year coach Bill McLaughlin.

“I’m pleased the girls have really stepped up and met our challenge,” said McLaughlin, whose team owns a 12-0 record in District 1-2A play. “I hope to finish this off on a really high note this year.”

Depending on what the Lady Skyhawks do at this week’s district tournament, McLaughlin is expecting his team to nab one of the top seeds at next month’s New Mexico Class 2A state basketball tournament.

“If we take care of our end we can end up anywhere between the No. 2 to No. 4 seed,” the Newcomb coach said.

Either way, the Skyhawks are almost guaranteed a home playoff game, as the top eight seeds will host a first-round game.

“We’re excited about that, and that’s new for us,” he said. “The last time Newcomb made significant progress in the state tournament was in 2002 when they were the state runner-ups.”

To put things in perspective, McLaughlin said he has only two girls who were born in 2002 so none of his kids have experienced that kind of success.

“Our school hasn’t had this kind of tradition so this is new territory for us,” he said. “We’re excited about the opportunity of hosting a first round game.

In the district tournament, Newcomb will host No. 5 seed Ramah today as the Lady Mustangs upset No. 4 Navajo Pine on Tuesday night by a 42-29 count.

Also on Tuesday, No. 2 seed Rehoboth advanced with a 66-41 triumph over No. 7 Shiprock Northwest while the Tsé Yi’ Gai topped Dulce, 51-45, on the road as the tournament’s No. 6 seed.

Barring any more upsets, Newcomb is expecting to see Rehoboth in the district championship on Saturday night at 6 p.m. The Lady Lynx have compiled a 17-9 record and their only losses in the district season were to McLaughlin’s team.

“They should be the favorite to come out of that bracket,” the Newcomb coach said of the Lynx. But “Tsé Yi Gai is a team that can sneak by.”

McLaughlin credits the season success to the versatility on his team.

“I’m really fortunate that I have an excellent balance,” McLaughlin said. “I can go eight deep. I can pretty much start any of those five players and we’re comfortable with whoever we put on the floor.”

Of the eight players, McLaughlin said he has three senior captains – Shoshanna Begay, Lucy Curley and Aaleigha Ashley – that have done a great job of leading the team.

“All three of them have been invaluable to me as a coach,” he said. “They have done a good job in making sure this team stays together from a chemistry standpoint.”

McLaughlin said he has four players who are averaging double figures this season. Of the four, Shoshanna Begay has been the most consistent scorer by averaging 14.7 ppg.

“She’s our leader on the floor and she’s up there in the top five in every statistical category for 2A,” McLaughlin said. “She’s kind of been the one to carry the load for the team but we’ve got four players that are averaging 10-plus points per game.”

Besides Shoshanna Begay, Newcomb has three other players that have exceeded 250 points this season with Hannah Begay averaging 14.5 ppg followed by Zoey Natonabah (11.2) and Aaleigha Ashley (10.1).