Tuba City sweeps Ganado boys, girls

By Truman Begaye
Special to the Times

GANADO – The Tuba City Warriors completed a sweep of the Ganado Hornets on Friday night at Ganado Pavilion, earning wins in both the girls and boys contests.

The Lady Hornets kept things competitive before falling 57-46, while the boys struggled to keep pace in a 67-40 loss.

The girls contest was the more competitive of the two, with Tuba City holding a slim 29-27 lead at halftime after Ganado mounted a second-quarter rally.

Freshman guard Layla Curtis led the Lady Warriors with 20 points, followed by senior forward Aubrey Begaye with 16 and sophomore guard Nakota Tallman with 12.

Ganado was led by a balanced effort as senior guards Autumn Tsosie and Jasah McIntosh, along with sophomore guard Jordan Claw, each scored 10 points. Senior forward Shawntaya Smith added nine points, and senior forward Jayanna White chipped in eight.

“Coming in, we always tell the girls we have targets on our backs,” Tuba City head coach Peterson Butler said. “Whatever team we play is going to be ready. Ganado was ready to play and played better than the first time we saw them. There was a little concern at halftime, but we made small adjustments and were able to keep the lead comfortable.”

Tuba City opened the game strong, jumping out to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter. Begaye led the Warriors with seven points, while Curtis, Tallman, Thalia Clitso and Makayeli Tsinnie each added two. Ganado stayed within reach behind four points from Claw and a three from Tsosie.

The Lady Hornets outscored Tuba City 16-14 in the second quarter, briefly taking the lead before trailing by just two at the break. Tsosie scored seven in the quarter, White added five, and McIntosh and Smith each contributed a field goal.

Momentum swung decisively in the third quarter as the Warriors outscored Ganado 15-2. Begaye scored five, Curtis added four, and Clitso, Tallman and Jaylynn Acothley each scored to push the lead to 44-29 entering the fourth.

Ganado won the final quarter 17-13, led by six points each from McIntosh and Claw, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.

Boys

The boys game saw Tuba City take control early and never look back.

The Warriors opened with an 18-8 first-quarter lead behind eight points from senior guard Anthony Bennett. Junior guard Marai Bilagody added four, while Clifford Walters, Tylan Klain and Chase Tallman each scored. Ganado was led by four points from junior Daryn Tsosie.

Tuba City extended its advantage in the second quarter, scoring 24 points to take a 42-18 halftime lead. Bilagody scored nine, Walters had five, Bennett added four, and three other Warriors contributed baskets. Quincy Peshtony led Ganado with six points in the quarter, while Kohl Curley added three.

The Warriors continued to build the lead in the third quarter, outscoring Ganado 16–9 to make it 58-27. Ethan Mallaburn scored seven points in the period, while Teton Martinez added four.

With the outcome decided, Tuba City scored nine points in the fourth quarter. Ganado outscored the Warriors 13-9 in the final period, led by six points from Curley, but the deficit was too large to overcome.

Bilagody led Tuba City with 14 points, followed by Bennett with 12 and Walters with nine. Curley led Ganado with nine points, and Peshtony finished with eight.

“If we do what we’re capable of doing, that’s what we get,” Tuba City boys coach Kimberly Williams said. “We still have some weaknesses to work on, but we just have to take care of what we can and move forward toward the state tournament.”

Tuba City has one game remaining in the regular season, with the boys at 11-9 and the girls at 21-3. The Warriors travel Window Rock on Jan. 29. The Ganado boys (6-18) and girls (9-13) have two games left. The Hornets travel to Chinle on Jan. 30 and at Hopi on Feb. 2.

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