Skyhawks take revenge on Cardinals

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Dec 5, 2019 | Basketball |

NEWCOMB, N.M.

The last time Bill McLaughlin coached against his son, his Newcomb Lady Skyhawks were on the wrong end of an 11-point loss.

That was last year as St. Michael coach Carl Adams won the school’s first-ever meeting at the Aztec girls’ basketball tournament.

In a rematch, McLaughlin’s team bested the Lady Cardinals with Newcomb posting a 46-31 win in last week’s season opener.

“Our best friend that day was Casper the ghost,” McLaughlin said of their first meeting.

“Today, I thought defensively we played extremely well at times,” he said. “Our goal is to keep people under 40. If we can keep people under 40 we have a shot to win most of our games.”

Newcomb seized an early 7-0 lead and never looked back as they increased that margin to 18-2 behind senior guard Shoshanna Begay’s eight points.

As the Skyhawks were making their push the Cardinals struggled mightily as they were held to only two free throws until junior guard Aurianna Quintana made their first field goal with 5:22 remaining in the second stanza.

“I felt like we kind of transitioned late,” said Adams, whose team missed five early baskets at point-blank range. “Tonight we couldn’t buy a basket, but I thought defense-wise we looked great. Offensively, we had some good looks but we have to finish. It would have been a different ballgame if we shot better.”

St. Michael added a pair of field goals in the last four minutes of the half but Newcomb’s lead swelled to 30-12 at the break with sophomore reserve post Deyovionanna Johnhat and starter Zoey Natonabah combining for six points.

“I was really impressed with her,” McLaughlin said of Johnhat. “She came in and gave Zoey a break and got us some rebounding and she had some good ball handling so I was real excited with her play tonight.”

In the second half the Skyhawks pushed their lead to as much as 21 points (34-13) when Hannah Begay scored on a fast-break layup with 5:09 left in the third.

For the rest of the quarter, St. Michael held Newcomb in check as they pulled within 34-19 behind a pair of treys from Quintana.

“We made some adjustments,” Adams said. “I felt like we owned that (quarter). We just need to start every game like that.”

In the fourth, Quintana added her third trey at the 6:02 mark but the margin was too much to overcome as Newcomb held off the Cardinals for a 15-point win.

“I thought we came out lethargic and we didn’t come out as hard,” McLaughlin said of their third quarter play. “I was real worried about them (the Cardinals) going off because their three-point shooters can shoot.

“They can spread you out and Auri had some good looks for them,” he added. “With those kinds of shooters their shots were going to drop but I thought our girls hung in there and fought. They did what they needed to do because in the fourth we turned it around. We got some steals and we made some fast breaks so I was excited about that.”

Of the 13 players that suited up, Newcomb had seven players score, with Shoshanna Begay leading the charge with 12 points. Senior Aaleigha Ashley chipped nine while Johnhat and Natonabah helped out with seven each.

For St. Michael, Quintana finished with a game-high 15 points.

“Auri played a really good game,” Adams said. “She did really good, she works at it but we all have to finish. I think we just need to be more consistent, especially against some tough teams like Newcomb.”