To’hajiilee girls mark another goal off list with district title

By Quentin Jodie
Navajo Times

PINE HILL, N.M.

Unlike previous years, the top two girls teams in District 1-1A will host a first-round state playoff game.

Regular season champ Pine Hill (20-7) earned the No. 4 seed while district tournament champion To’hajiilee (19-8) garnered the No. 7 seed for this week’s New Mexico Class 1A state tournament.

“We’ve changed the atmosphere around here,” said Pine Hill girls’ coach Carlett Daniels when asked about being hosting for the second year in a row.

“Basketball is something we’re excited about. I’m so happy for the girls and their efforts,” said Daniels, who was involved in a skirmish with a Pine Hill fan. “I continue to tell them that winning is not easy. Everybody thinks winning is easy and it’s not. We have to continue to play hard and be ready for whoever we play.”

Pine Hill will entertain No. 13 Hondo Valley in a 6 p.m. tipoff on Friday.

Meanwhile, To’hajiilee will welcome No. 10 Quemado at their home gym for a 5:30 p.m. game.

“That was one of our goals,” To’hajiilee first-year coach Visaria Apachito said of earning one of the top seeds for the state tournament. “As soon as we got the team together we went around the room and each girl set a goal for themselves and the team.”

The goals they set, Apachito said, entailed winning the district title, host a first-round state game and play for the two seniors they have on the squad.

“We’ve been knocking them off game by game,” she said. “We’ve been checking them off and now we get to host. We’re looking forward to it and it’s a blessing.”

After losing to Pine Hill in two previous meetings, the To’hajiilee Lady Warriors exacted some revenge by using a 15-0 second half run to pull away from Pine Hill in their 48-34 triumph in Saturday’s district championship game.

“We haven’t had a district championship in years,” Apachito said. “We have a young team and we have some big dreams.”

In that decisive run, To’hajiilee assistant coach Alex Apachito said they focused on closing out Pine Hill’s shooters as the home team cut a nine-point halftime deficit down to 31-30 with 4:47 left in the third quarter on a trey by junior Maurie Daniels, who scored seven straight.

“We knew who they’re shooters are so we put an emphasis of running a 1-2-2 (zone defense) and getting out to their shooters,” he said.

During that scoring blitz by To’hajiilee, Daniels said his team got into a funk on both ends of the court.

“They shot well and we tried to change it up,” he said. “We ran a man (defense) and we tried different zone stuff. We just weren’t able to make a change. We’re usually the ones pushing the ball and pushing the pace. It was kind of switched around, they were the ones dictating the pace.”

In that stretch, Pine Hill missed 13 shots and committed seven turnovers.

“We couldn’t get our shots to fall but we also had some uncharacteristic turnovers,” Daniels said.

With Pine Hill in a slump, Apachito said her team did a good job of stretching their lead to as much as 46-30 before the home team got a basket by Maurie Daniels with 3:40 to go in the fourth.

“They just have heart,” the To’hajiilee coach said, while adding that once they catch fire they’re hard to stop.

“You light them up and they’re good,” she said.

Sophomore Erynn Montehermoso led To’hajiilee with 14 while freshmen Tyler-Rose Apachito and Alyce Apachito added 10 and eight, respectively.

For Pine Hill, Maurie Daniels had a team-high 14 points. Senior Hazel Begay added 10.

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