Tournament of Champions

Lady Sand Devils top Winslow in finals

CHINLE

The Page girls’ basketball team took a big step forward in establishing themselves as the team to beat in Division III.

The defending state champs displayed its versatility in upending state powerhouse Winslow, 56-40, in the championship game of the Peabody Energy Tournament of Champions on Saturday at the Chinle High School Wildcat Den.

“I like the fact that we played three games in this tournament and we had different girls step up,” Page coach Justin Smith said. “They did a lot of good things offensively.”

The Lady Sand Devils had eight of 12 players that scored with senior Ashley Dempsey leading the charge with 19 points. Ariel Austin and LeLisa Watson added nine and eight points, respectively.

Page shot an efficient 19-of-51 from the field, which included 5-of-17 from the three-point line, against Winslow’s zone defense.
“We were able to run some zone offense,” Smith said. “Sometimes their zone affected us but we attacked the gaps and we were able to hit some shots from the corners.”

That offensive production took affect midway through the first quarter as Page erased a 4-2 deficit and turned it into a 14-4 cushion heading into the second quarter.

During that 12-0 run the Sand Devils forced two turnovers near midcourt and turned them into fast break buckets for Myka Taliman and Watson. Later in the quarter Dempsey added a two-point basket before Austin capped the period with a three-point shot for its 10-point cushion.

The lead ballooned to 22-8 with 3:54 to go in the half after Watson hit her second field goal of the game. At the half the Sand Devils led 28-15.

“Page is a good team,” Winslow coach Jerron Jordan said. “They are the defending state champs and they were the favorites to win this tournament going in.”

---