Page boys, girls wins 3A state championships

CHINLE

It has been a long road for the Sand Devils. The COVID-19 virus made what was already a challenging journey 10 times more difficult as the basketball season was consecutively postponed, canceled, reinstated and delayed.

But despite the adversities, both the Page boys’ and girls’ basketball teams achieved their dreams Saturday and became the 3A state champions for 2021.

The girls were the first ones on the court as they played at Eastmark High in Mesa where they faced the Snowflake Lady Lobos.

It was the second time the teams met and Page won by almost 20 points the first time. Some hoped it would be the same story here.

From the first moment however, it was clear Snowflake had learned its lesson as it quickly swiped the ball and made the first basket of the game.

Junior Miquedah Taliman would make Page’s first and second baskets.

It was a frantic game as the two teams sprinted up and down the court.

Junior Chamique Nez and senior Torrance Begay would also score as Page got ahead in the first quarter 11 to 10 and wouldn’t relinquish it.

In the first quarter Page had trouble making baskets. It might have been nerves, but in the second the players caught their breath and were making their shots. They put up a strong offense with Taliman leading both the offense and defense.

But the Lady Lobos were just as talented. Every time Page scored, Snowflake would answer right back.

Taliman and Nez made baskets in the second half while senior Emma Yazzie gave the Lady Sand Devils their first 3-pointer. After the first half it was 20-16 with Page leading.

When the players returned to the court it became an all-out battle. Turnovers were constant as the ball was intercepted or knocked out of bounds. Every time the ball was lost there would be at least two girls diving for it.

Knowing it was all or nothing, the Lady Sand Devils pressed their offense, making the Lady Lobos feel the heat and causing them to make mistakes.

While Page maintained a steady lead, it was playing in a gym filled with Snowflake fans. Their chants and cheers were deafening, but Page maintained its focus.

Taliman, Begay and Yazzie helped end the third quarter with a 30-23 Page lead.

In the final quarter the Lady Lobos made their first three-pointer. Now feeling the tension and possibly tired, the Lady Lobos had a difficult time maintaining the ball and every time Page had it, they spent more time trying to run out the clock and keep it out of Snowflake’s hands.

The Lady Lobos committed many fouls and gave the Sand Devils three chances to shoot a free throw, but none were dropping.

In the final seconds, Begay made the last basket for Page, shooting a free throw.

The Lady Sand Devils made one last thrust into the Lady Lobos’ court but their throw was too powerful as the ball went over the hoop.

But it didn’t matter – the buzzer went off and the Lady Sand Devils won 36 to 32.

The girls cheered and hugged one another before quickly enveloping their coach, Ryan Whitehorse.

The Lady Sand Devils ended their season flawlessly: 14 victories with no losses, No. 1 in the girls’ 3A Division and No. 1 in the North Central standings.

Taliman gives praise and thanks to God for the season and for winning the championship.

“It feels great, knowing we redeemed ourselves from last year,” Taliman said. “I can’t really explain the feeling; it’s just excitement, it was great.”

Coach Whitehorse praised his girls and also acknowledged coach Joe Clare and his Lady Lobos for giving them a good game.

“It feels great,” said Whitehorse. “But first, hats off to Coach Clare, his Snowflakes team was a very good team. We knew it was going to be a competitive game, it wasn’t going to be a runaway like last time.

He added that the exciting game felt like a return to “some type of normalcy.”

“Even though we weren’t able to have the whole Page community with us, we were still able to do what we needed to do and give something positive back to the community instead of always looking at COVID,” he said. “Just having this outlet for our community as well for the Navajo Nation too.”

Boys win

An hour later, the court was cleared and it was the boys’ turn to play.

The Page Sand Devils once again faced the Snowflake Lobos, and this time it was for the trophy.

Again, this was the second time the teams had faced one another. The last time the Lobos won, but that fact didn’t seem to bother Page.

The Lobos made the first basket and Page responded with senior Stuart Sandall dunking the ball. The game took off from there with the Sand Devils fronting a strong offense.

Senior Jonah Holiday would score at the free-throw line and senior Robert Smith gave Page its first three-pointer.

At first quarter’s end it was 11-7 in Page’s favor with Sandall having made most of the baskets from the inside.

In the second quarter Page worked to keep the Lobos covered. They were expert shooters and made it clear when they were one point away from passing Page.

However in this quarter, Holiday, Smith and sophomore Orlandon Yazzie all made three-pointers while the Lobos only made one. It was 30-19 Page at the end of the first half.

In second half the Lobos changed their strategy. Instead of going for the long shots and leaving them exposed to the Sand Devils defense, they tightened their formations, relied on teamwork and began making more inside shots.

In turn, the Sand Devils stepped up their offense while maintaining a good defensive line. Sandall and Yazzie led the scoring. Yazzie and senior Dahntay Dugi made three-pointers and finished the third quarter with Page ahead, 42-32.

In the final quarter things were getting desperate. Sandall, who had been on the court for most of the game, took a hard hit and fell flat on his back.

A moment later, he got back up with the help of his teammates and would later make another dunk.

The Lobos worked hard to score, but every time they did, the Sand Devils would answer in kind.

While the Lobos strengthened their offense, they left their defense weak, allowing Page to run. At one point Yazzie was thrown the ball and ran down the court with no opposition and made the basket.

In the final minutes, a lot of fouls were called and the Sand Devils made a lot of free throws, allowing them to keep the lead.

Sandall, Holiday, Yazzie, Dugi and Smith made their final baskets. Smith made the last free throw before the Lobos acquired the ball and made a desperate half-court shot.

But it was over as the ball grazed the hoop. The final score was 64- 51 with Page winning.

Like the girls before them. the boys came together in a huge group hug before quickly including coach Justin Smith in the huddle.

The Sand Devils end their season 10-4, No.5 in the 3A Division but No.1 in the North Central standings.

“It feels pretty darned amazing, that’s for sure,” Justin Smith said. “I told several people there is no way to describe the feeling. … I really wish I could put into words the way that you feel after you reach the top of whatever you’re doing.”

With the many difficulties of the year, Smith praised to the strength of his boys.

“I just love the resolve of them, the things that we had to go through this year with a season, no season, not knowing what would happen back in January,” he said. “We could have easily given up on having a season early.”

After losing their first two games, Smith said he reminded his team, “It’s not about being good now, we’ll get better, we just need to make state playoffs.”

“We had the same goal for the last two years,” he added. “Once we get there, great things will happen and it did this year.”

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