Lady Cougars outlast Red Mesa in gritty battle

By Donovan Quintero

RED MESA, Ariz. — In a hard-fought showdown, the Rock Point girls powered past Red Mesa with a commanding 65-51 victory, dominating the middle quarters and taking full advantage of Red Mesa’s foul trouble.

Despite a furious late-game surge, Red Mesa couldn’t overcome their early struggles, allowing the No. 6 Lady Cougars to seal the win with steady scoring and disciplined defense.

The game opened with a tightly contested first quarter. Rock Point’s Tayleen Woody wasted no time setting the tone, draining two deep 3-pointers to ignite her team’s offense. Corlana Begay found her rhythm with a strong inside finish, while Kayah Jones added a smooth mid-range jumper to keep Rock Point in the fight.

On the other end, Tianna Bradley answered back for Red Mesa, sinking two 3-pointers and a deuce of her own, while Ashley Jones and Shyla Pipkin found success attacking the lane, adding a combined total of eight points.

Fouls began piling up early, particularly for Lady Cougar’s Ashanti Smith, who picked up two quick infractions. Red Mesa, however, faced even bigger issues, with Shandiin Johnson and Kira James both committing multiple fouls in the opening quarter. Red Mesa edged out Rock Point 11-10 to close the quarter, but the intensity hinted at the battle still to come.

Despite being ranked 6th in the state, the Lady Cougars found themselves trailing 12-4 in the opening minutes. But head coach Andrew Reed kept his team composed.

“Be patient. Let’s get back into one shot at a time, and don’t force your shots, and don’t make crazy passes,” Reed said to his team.

The strategy worked, as Rock Point slowly chipped away at the lead.

“Slowly we got back into it,” Reed said. “… Once they got the confidence that, hey, we can run with these guys.”

The coach then instructed his team to ramp up the defensive pressure, especially on Red Mesa’s Tianna Bradley.

“We had to do a box-and-one (on) No. 14 (Bradley) because she was making things happen. So once we did a box-and-one on her, they couldn’t do anything else,” said Reed.

Woody, the game’s leading scorer, credited the team’s strong start as the key to their success.

“We (were) just telling ourselves to come out strong, have a strong start and push it first and second quarter, and then that way, third quarter, fourth quarter, it’ll just kick into us and we’ll finish it,” she said.

Rock Point erupted in the second quarter, flipping the momentum with a 19-9 run that left Red Mesa scrambling. Woody remained unstoppable, slicing through the defense for a layup before spotting up for another 3-pointer. Overall, she finished the second quarter with 13 points.

Red Mesa struggled all night to find its rhythm, but offensive stagnation plagued them. Pipkin and James accounted for all nine points to keep their team from falling too far behind before the halftime buzzer echoed throughout the gym.

By halftime, Rock Point had taken control, surging ahead 35-25 and leaving Red Mesa searching for answers at the half.

The third quarter only worsened Red Mesa’s situation. Rock Point continued its relentless attack, matching its second-quarter output with another 19-point performance.

Woody remained relentless but it was Pepper Pete who caught fire in the third quarter for the Lady Cougars who was fouled four times. Pete hit 5-of-9 free throws, one of which was a foul from behind the three-point line.

On the other side, Red Mesa’s Ashley Jones got the highest score with four points total in the third quarter, followed by her teammates Pipkin and Lukeshia Curley who each contributed two points, ending the third quarter with eight points total.

Red Mesa desperate to respond, looked to Bradley and Jones, but the shots wouldn’t fall. Foul trouble again haunted Red Mesa, with Shandiin Johnson picking up her fourth and Merlynn Denezepi reaching three fouls. Red Mesa’s offense stalled, mustering only eight points in the entire quarter, allowing Rock Point to stretch its lead to 48-28 as the game slipped further from Red Mesa’s grasp.

With their backs against the wall, Rez Mesa finally found its offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter. Pipkin and Curley took charge, with Pipkin scoring eight and Curley six which sent a brief spark through the Red Mesa bench.

Jones and Bradley attacked the rim, drawing fouls and converting at the line. Their energy propelled Red Mesa to an 18-point quarter, their best offensive stretch of the night. Rock Point, sensing the shift in momentum, refused to let the lead slip away. They responded with composed mid-range jumpers, but it was Anayasha Becenti’s four points that helped her team over the 60-point mark.

Despite Red Mesa’s late push, the Lady Cougars held firm, narrowly losing the quarter 18-9 but maintaining a comfortable cushion. But Rock Point’s early lead helped build an insurmountable lead, and as the final buzzer sounded, they walked away with a 65-51 victory.

Red Mesa girls head coach Sandy Benally tipped his hat to Rock Point who ended their six-game winning streak on Thursday night.

“The game plan was to play our game first of all, but suddenly it changed to where we started playing their game,” explained Benally after the tough defeat.

He said the team’s strength lies in their inside game, but they struggled to execute against Rock Point’s speed and shooting ability.

Benally lamented having to burn all his timeouts trying to get his players to “settle down” and return to their rhythm.

“It took a long time, and that’s what killed us,” he said.

Despite the setback, Red Mesa remains in a strong position, sitting in second place in their section.

“We do have a good chance, and then we have a good chance of meeting them again. So, you know, third time’s a charm,” Benally said confidently about their playoff prospects, and possibly facing the Lady Cougars again in the playoffs.

With playoff experience in the starting lineup and a bye in the regional tournament, Red Mesa is poised to bounce back and make another run at their rivals from Rock Point.

Woody led the Rock Point Lady Cougars with 34 points, her 3-point shooting proving pivotal in the first half. Jones followed with 10 points, knocking down two crucial 3s, while Begay’s all-around play kept Rock Point’s offense flowing.

On Red Mesa’s side, Bradley emerged as the top scorer with 15 points, sinking three 3-pointers in the process. Jones added 10, and Pipkin contributed eight, but the team’s lack of offensive consistency hurt them in the long run.

Foul trouble plagued Red Mesa’s throughout, racking up 31 total fouls compared to Rock Point’s 19. Rock Point capitalized on Red Mesa’s mistakes, converting free throws and maintaining composure under pressure.

Rock Point is set to play the Williams Lady Vikings on Saturday. Williams is coming off a 37-29 loss to Mogollon, and Reed is confident his team can handle the challenge.

Reed said they played Williams during the Chinle girls high school basketball tournament where they defeated the Lady Vikings by 30, 35 points.

When asked about the team’s game plan for the night, Woody expressed confidence in her team’s abilities.

“We got the defense, we got the box out, we got the shooters,” she said. “We like to keep it competitive.”

Woody believes the teams’ well-rounded skill set, including strong defense, rebounding, and shooting, combined with their competitive nature, will be key factors in their success.

“And we just motivate each other. And yeah, no, we’re ready for the playoffs,” Woody elaborated on the team’s competitive spirit.

This suggests that the Lady Cougars not only push each other to perform at a high level but also share a collective excitement and readiness for the upcoming playoff run.

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