Winslow finishes at semis; Page on way to finals

CHINLE

It was a night of tension as the semi-finals for the 2021 AIA Girls Basketball 3A Championship was under way. Competing in the top four brackets were Winslow and Page who both played their respective games on Wednesday night.

Page, which is No. 1 in both the division and the north central region, won its game by 56-49. Winslow, ranked No. 6 in the division and No. 3 in the East region, ended with 43 to 49 Snowflake.

The Lady Sand Devils met stiff competition from Thatcher’s Lady Eagles that night as they ran an intense game. Page made the first basket, but the Lady Eagles were right behind them. In the final minutes of the first quarter, they tied 9 to 9 before Thatcher pushed ahead and ended the period 9 to 11 Thatcher.

The Lady Eagles’ defense was making it difficult for the Lady Sand Devils to move, but Page’s offense was allowing the team to make their scores. By the second quarter it was 19 to 19.

Following half-time, the Lady Eagles took it up a notch, making risky plays, making far passes to teammates halfway down the court and putting the pressure on Page.

Senior Neve Redhair and junior Miquedah Taliman were able to keep the ball rolling for Page, but the Lady Eagles had pulled ahead and weren’t letting the Lady Sand Devils breathe. Senior Emma Yazzie and Neve led the defense. In the final minute of the 4th period, it looked like it was over with Thatcher ahead 45 to Page’s 40.

In the final 15 seconds of the fourth period, Taliman made a three-pointer basket. Then immediately after, with only 10 seconds to spare, Nadya Begay ran under the hoop and made a two-pointer, tying the score 45-45, taking the game into overtime and bringing out a roar of enthusiasm from the Page fans.

In the extended five minutes, Thatcher seemed to hesitate, allowing Page to once again take the lead. Thatcher made it tied again at 47-47, then 49-49. Finally, Page pulled away with Taliman making four successful free throws and finishing with 26 points for the night. Senior Torrance Begay made the final baskets with successful free throws, ending the game at 56-49.

“It was a good learning experience,” said Page girls’ coach Ryan Whitehorse. “Been trying to get a game like this all season. We need to either lose or have a tough game like that to wake us up. Spark that fire within us, get us going and learn a lot from how we play that game: That was the game we had tonight.”

Now Page is to go up against Snowflake, No. 2 in the division. The finals will be held this Saturday in the Lady Sand Devils’ home court. It will be a close game on top of a very intense and heartfelt season. For the Lady Sand Devils, like junior Miquedah Taliman, state is something they have been looking forward to since the start of the chaotic season. She gives thanks to God for their streak of wins and is proud of her teammates performance.

“It’s a great feeling,” Taliman said. “This has been our goal before we even started the season. Now it’s coming to the that final game where we want to be, and we’ll be prepared this time. We’re ready to come out and have fun and hopefully get a gold ball at the end.”

In the valley, the Winslow girls faced equally tough odds, but they dove right into it. The Lady Bulldogs faced the Lady Lobos from Snowflake for the third time this season with the hope that this time it’d be a win.

In the first quarter, things seemed to be going Winslow’s way, with them leading the score for most of the period before Snowflake caught up to them. Then disaster struck when senior Kristin Wagner fell hard and got a laceration injury on her hand. She would receive stitches and is said to be in good health now, but one of Winslow’s best defenders was out of the game.

The injury was unexpected, but coach Jerron Jordan was proud of his girls as they stepped up and did their best to adjust a new game plan.

Following that, it became an intense, close game as the two teams chased one another across the court. The Lady Bulldogs were able to put up a strong resistance, but they lost some of the team cohesion from earlier and had trouble making shots and turnovers.

Despite that, almost all the girls on the team were able to make baskets. Sophomore Anysa Tso and freshman JaciGonnie helped pave the way in the game’s opening. Sierra Singer was able to score baskets and some free throw shots as well, propelling the team forward.

Soon they started to get into foul trouble as they struggled to keep ahead of the lobos.

It was a hard-fought game, getting a little physical along the way. Pushes and shoves occurred throughout as the two teams were a close match. They tied about four or five times throughout the game, never staying more than three points away from one another. Winslow led for a few minutes before Snowflake overtook them, but the Lady Bulldogs would pull ahead again a minute later.

The tension was highest in the final quarter as the girls fought with Snowflake in the lead before Winslow snatched it away with just one point separating them. However, in the final minutes of the game, Winslow began to lose steam. With two minutes to go, they were once again tied at 43-43. Then the Lady Lobos pulled ahead and didn’t give up the lead. Winslow tried to put up a defense, get some turnovers and make some last-minute points, but Snowflake turned up the heat and wouldn’t give them the chance.

Finally, after making a final basket, Snowflake won the game with 49 points to Winslow’s 43.

Although a tough game with many challenges from the get-go, coach Jerron Jordan is nevertheless proud of the girls’ achievement as they end their season at the semifinals.

“It was a great season and I am proud of my kids, we just came a little short,” Jordon said. “These kids mean the world to me, my student athletes and my staff, and our fans and our radio personality, and everyone, and we thank everyone for all they do and their time. We’re just grateful for this opportunity and we’ll keep fighting and working on getting to the championship next year. Going to back to the gym this summer and get after it.”

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