Winslow, MV end Wildcats' seasons

The Chinle Wildcats kissed their shot at a regional title and the state tournament goodbye as both the boys' and girls' teams were eliminated in the first round of the 3A North tournament Tuesday night at the Wildcat Den.

Girls

The Lady Wildcats came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed and fell to No. 4 and defending state champions Winslow Lady Bulldogs, 66-54.

Winslow played with composure throughout the first quarter, setting up shooting guard Felicia Keams. Chinle, however, managed to stay within striking distance to end the first quarter behind, 21-16.

In the second quarter, Chinle stepped up their defense going man-to-man to shut down Winslow's Keams. Though Keams continued to shoot over the Wildcats, sinking 3 three-pointers to add to her total of 15 points, key plays by Chinle's Karla Kee kept the Wildcats in the game.

The first half ended with the Wildcats trailing, 32-28.

"We ripped into the girls a little bit, especially me," said Jerron Jordan, first-year head coach for Winslow, about his halftime talk. "We told them that we expected more out of them. It wasn't pleasant but they did what they were asked the second half and bounced back."

In the third quarter, the Wildcats took their first lead of the night, 34-33. Chinle changed defensive gears again forcing turnovers and putting pressure on Winslow's shots ending the third with the lead, 42-41.

Winslow gave up only 8 points in the final quarter and knocked in 15 points with only two minutes left in the game to put them on top, 56-50.

A steal by Gabby Stacey allowed the Lady Bulldogs to run the clock down and score 10 more points within the last two minutes of play. The Bulldogs stole the win, 66-54.

Winslow point guard Stacey, the only starter returning from last year's state championship ball club, led the team in scoring with 20 points.

"Our kids played tough at the end," Jordan said. "Chinle hung around and we couldn't really bust the game open. We'd get a lead and they'd cut it to two points.

"If they would have played the way they did the last three minutes, we felt like we could have busted the game open into the double digits," he added. "We have a tendency to get nonchalant at times, but we need that kind of effort the entire game."

The Lady Bulldogs face No. 1-seed Window Rock in the semifinals on Friday at 6 p.m.

"Window Rock is not an easy task," said Jordan. "We have our hands full. We just have to come and lay it all out on the line and try to contain their top players. But anyone is beatable on any given night."

Chinle's Regina Allen, who took over the head coaching position in January, said despite the loss, she was happy with her team's performance.

"We've had some ups and downs all season," she said. "But just being able to play man-to-man all the way through is a big accomplishment for us because that's what we've been trying to work on.

"We managed to force some turnovers when we went man-to-man," she added. "We knew who the shooter was and we tried to shut her down. But we just weren't able to get past their screens."

Boys

In the boys' contest, the No. 5 seeded Chinle Wildcats and No. 4 Monument Valley Mustangs matched up.

From the tip of the ball, the teams traded jump for jump and speed for speed, hustling after every loose ball and going for every open shot. The first quarter ended in favor of the Mustangs, 17-14.

In the second quarter, Chinle's effort mirrored Monument Valley's as they traded baskets to end the half tied at 31.

Both teams allowed 17 shots in the third quarter and were tied once again at 48 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Chinle managed to chalk up 7 team fouls against the Mustangs with four minutes left to play, giving the Wildcats the upper hand. Monument Valley had the lead by just one point.

The Mustangs answered by putting full force on the defensive end and holding the Wildcats to only a few points. The Mustangs added 11 to their score and gave up only three win the last three minutes to snatch the win, 66-58.

"It was one heck of a game," said Steve Troglia, who completed his first year at Chinle as the head basketball coach. "I think they were just trying to do things they wouldn't normally do. I'm always trying to tell them to make the easy pass and get it inside. We did try to get it inside, it was just bad timing."

Despite the tough loss, Troglia said he looks to next year's team to make some noise in the conference.

"They are destined for great things in the future," he said. "Overall, the experience they gained through the year will help them in the coming year. They've grown tremendously."

Troglia said he's started underclassmen all year. They will lose one starter from this year's squad but returning will be freshman Kevin Yazzie, sophomore Jalen Claw and sophomore Searle Tracey.

Of the Warriors' performance, Troglia said, "That's typical MV - they have some seniors and guys that shoot with confidence. It came down to the team that was able to execute in the end. MV got the ball and executed."

Mustangs coach Perry Francis was elated.

"It could have gone either way toward the end," he said. "Chinle was well prepared for us and it came down to free throws, who stepped up their defense, and who played pressure defense."

After a losing to Chinle last week by three points, Francis said his team was eager to match up again with the Wildcats.

"They wanted it back for losing," he said. "They wanted to play Chinle again."

Francis said feeding the posts such as Jeffery Staley toward the end of the game sealed the win for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs will face No. 1 seed Holbrook on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

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