Window Rock, Page, Tuba City girls advance in Copper State Championship

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

FORT DEFIANCE — The higher seeds largely held firm in the opening round of the Arizona Interscholastic Association Copper State Championship on Tuesday evening as No. 2 seed Tuba City, No. 6 seed Window Rock and No. 8 seed Page all advanced to the quarterfinals. San Carlos, the No. 5 seed, also moved on and will travel to face No. 4 Valley Christian in the remaining quarterfinal matchup.

Three teams from the 3A North remain alive in the postseason after each earned victories to continue their seasons.

Window Rock 68, Joseph City 56

Window Rock (19-8) placed three players in double figures and defeated Joseph City (29-3) 68–56, handing the Wildcats just their third loss of the season.

Senior Kourtney Bitselley led the Lady Scouts with 24 points, while freshman Naomi James added 15, including 10 points in the opening quarter that helped establish early momentum. Joseph City’s senior guard Andrey Neill scored a game-high 38 points in the loss.

Joseph City briefly took an early lead before Window Rock’s full-court pressure began to take effect. The Lady Scouts forced multiple turnovers and converted them into fast-break points, closing the first quarter on a 21–4 run to build a 22–8 advantage.

Freshman Tiana Edison was forced to the bench with foul trouble during the opening period, shifting the scoring responsibility to Bitselley and James.

Window Rock continued its strong shooting in the second quarter. Bitselley knocked down two 3-pointers while the Lady Scouts stretched the lead to 39–20 at halftime. Neill accounted for all of Joseph City’s offense, scoring 12 in the quarter.

The Wildcats chipped away in the third quarter, cutting the margin to 47–32 entering the fourth. Neill added 12 more points in the final period, but Window Rock matched baskets down the stretch as Bitselley, Edison and freshman Kadence Tenijieth each scored six in the quarter to secure the win.

“The girls know what is on the line,” Window Rock coach Gabrielle Whitney said. “We do have some things to clean up. We can’t have a player score 38 points, but our shots fell when we needed them to.”

Whitney credited her senior guard for stabilizing the offense.

“We can’t rely on one person,” she said. “Kourtney had one heck of a game. She stepped up when Tiana was in foul trouble. She is the veteran on the team, and I’m not surprised she came out and scored.”

Looking ahead to the next round at Pima, Whitney added, “It’s a long drive, but we will take on any team if we play like we did tonight.”

Window Rock (19–8) travels to face No. 3 seed Pima (24–4).

Page 58, Mohave Accelerated 21

Page controlled the game from the opening tip in a 58–21 win over Mohave Accelerated (23-5). Junior Trece Tsingine scored 15 points, senior Tayla Franklin added 14 and senior Issianna Brown finished with 11.

The Sand Devils quickly set the tone defensively, outscoring the Patriots 19–4 in the first quarter and 15–4 in the second to build a commanding 34–8 halftime lead.

Mohave Accelerated found brief success in the third quarter with 11 points, but Page responded by closing the game with a 12–2 fourth quarter.

After playing much of the season at the middle school gym, the Sand Devils returned to their home court atmosphere for the postseason.

“Our team understands the expectation of the postseason,” Page coach Celest Claw said. “It’s one-and-done each game. We want to keep the mindset on advancing in the Copper Bracket and not going back down to the 3A. We need to keep the momentum and keep their guards in check. We shot well and need to carry that into the next game.”

Page (14–13) advances to face No. 1 seed Snowflake (28–1).

Tuba City 56, Round Valley 50

Tuba City held off Round Valley 56–50 in a tight contest to advance.

Layla Curtis led the Lady Warriors with 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists while also recording six steals.

Tuba City led 11–9 after the first quarter and used a strong 20–7 second quarter to take a 29–18 halftime lead.

Round Valley responded in the second half, trimming the deficit, and pulling within four late in the fourth quarter before Tuba City secured the win at the free-throw line in the final moments.

Tuba City (25–3) will host No. 7 seed St. Johns (28–4).

All quarterfinal games are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday.

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