‘They just come after you’ : Lady Cougars strut their stuff, finish off Braves

RIO RANCHO, N.M.

They brought pressure and they showed why they’re one of the top teams in Class 3A.

For nearly the entire game the Tohatchi Lady Cougars made things difficult for the Santa Fe Indian School Lady Braves to establish any rhythm in their 56-39 quarterfinal win on Tuesday night.

“I thought we came out with the urgency, with the energy and we were focused from the start,” Tohatchi coach Tanisha Bitsoi said. “You know we hit some shots and defensively we did what we were supposed to do with our assignments.

“Overall, I think the girls played a very well game tonight but we’re not done,” she added.

In the first three minutes, Tohatchi junior post Montano Soto made her presence known by scoring five early points as the Cougars raced out to an 8-0 lead.

The Gilbert High transfer tallied four more points to end the quarter with nine as Tohatchi led 17-10.

“My role on the team is to be aggressive,” said Soto, who finished with a game-best 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting. “There are things that I have to work on but as being a big I have to do the dirty work underneath and just finishing and doing what I can to help my team.”

With her inside presence, Tohatchi was able to complement its outside game with senior guards Krystal Benally and Cameron Tsosie chipping in 14 and 13 points, respectively.

“She’s a real big part of our offense,” Tsosie said. “We feed her the ball and as you saw they had to double team her so that opened up the outside so she’s really impacted the team.”

At the half, Tohatchi led 30-19.

Santa Fe Indian coach Patricia Chavez said Soto made a huge difference as the Cougars scored 28 points inside the paint.

“They dominated inside and she’s a force to reckon with,” Chavez said. “You got to front her and you have to dig on the backside. She’s a smart girl and she uses her body well.”

Offensively, Cameron Connors led the Braves as the sophomore post finished with 14.

Chavez was hoping to get more players to score but they were frustrated by Tohatchi’s defense.

“They just come after you and you can’t relax for one minute,” the SFIS coach said of the Cougars.

And although they trailed by double digits in the second half, SFIS could not get anything going when Tohatchi experienced a scoring drought at the start of the third.

Nonetheless, a three-point shot by Tsosie at the 4:52 mark ignited an 11-3 run as Tohatchi took a 41-23 advantage heading into the fourth.

Prior to that run, Bitsoi had to call a timeout to settle her girls.

“I just told them we had to regroup,” she said. “We were in position to do something great today and they went back out there with composure.”

As for today’s contest, Bitsoi said she’s looking forward to seeing Tularosa for the second time this season. In mid-December, the Cougars lost a 62-59 decision at the Texico tournament.

“I really feel like we’ve really improved in some areas and I’m sure they have too,” she said. “We do have a size advantage over them but we can’t take them lightly.

“It’s going to be a good game, we’re excited about it and they’re a tough team,” she added. “They’re feisty and they’re scrappy and they work hard. We’re looking forward to the matchup.”

In that earlier meeting, Bitsoi said there were factors that played a part in that loss as her team came off a seven-hour bus ride to play Tularosa.

“We didn’t perform to the best of our abilities in that game,” she said.

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