Disciplined Shiprock wins Richardson Invite

 

F or three nights the Shiprock Lady Chieftains walked out on the court knowing what they had to do.

And every night, they did it.

They came with intensity, they came ready to play and proved that they could do more.

"The girls actually have a little more heart than what a lot of people think," Shiprock head coach Brady Rivers said. "What was really surprising was the girls did exactly what we said they needed to do."

But Rivers said his team learned to listen well before the 2008 Jerry Richardson Memorial Lady Chieftain Invitational, in which Shiprock was host to seven teams.

Their discipline started when they lost the nail-biting season-opener to the Gallup Lady Bengals, 44-43.

"The girls are really starting to buy into our philosophy," Rivers said. "We learned that we can play different styles. At state and district you have to play with different levels."

In their first round game, the Lady Chieftains defeated the Red Mesa Lady Redskins, 58-25.

In the next round, against Cortez, the Lady Panthers' fast-paced game gave Shiprock a good run.

The Lady Chieftains led 14-13 at the end of the second period and by two at halftime, 31-29.

With teamwork from seniors Charmayne Bellamy and Jamie Pioche and junior Mishauna Todacheenie, the Lady Chieftains were able to seal the win, 71-48.

The championship game against the Montrose Lady Indians was the final test for Shiprock. It was also a test for Montrose as they lost four key players from last year.

The Lady Chieftains led Montrose 5-4 at the end of the first period and the second period was much of the same, as Shiprock led 9-8 at halftime.

Both teams struggled offensively but were strong defensively.

Bellamy hit a three-point shot to start the third quarter. Coming off the bench, Haley Taliman contributed a three-point shot to put the Lady Chieftains up, 16-8.

Shiprock allowed Montrose only two points the entire third quarter.

But with a couple of fouls and flat-footedness the Lady Chieftains saw their lead slip away in the fourth period with less than three minutes to go.

After Rivers called a timeout, Bellamy landed a layup to put Shiprock in the lead again, 23-22. From then on they kept it and defeated Montrose, 31-27.

Though Shiprock's Todacheenie was named most valuable player, Rivers said team captain Bellamy was the glue for the team.

"She would be the one that kind of holds us together," Rivers said.

Rivers said he was most proud of his team in the final period because they played smart.

"Running away with that (lead) at the fourth quarter," Rivers said, "they played with pose and discipline."

Crownpoint

The Crownpoint Lady Eagles may not have had enough three-pointers to defeat Montrose but they did when they played Navajo Prep.

The two teams met earlier in the weak for a regular-season match-up and Crownpoint came up on top.

Navajo Prep made it known that the loss of key players Nicole Crisp and Marqia Begaye may have contributed to the team's coming up short.

In the semifinals of the consolation bracket, Crownpoint got the chance to show that they had what it took, even with Crisp back.

"It was a motivation for us to say we can still beat you," Crownpoint head coach Sherri Moore said. "We actually ran our offense, last time we didn't run our offense a whole lot and last time they beat us on the boards, this time we did a much better job."

Offense and all, Crownpoint defeated Navajo Prep, 56-53.

Most of Crownpoint's points came from senior Brittany Charles who led the team with 20 points (four were three-pointers), sophomore Kelsi Benally followed with 18 points and senior Melania Perry added 11 (two three-pointers).

Crownpoint played Myramura for the consolation championship and won, 67-43.

Navajo Prep

The Navajo Prep Lady Eagles were not themselves.

Perhaps it was because their coach was "out of town" and they were in the hands of assistant coach Sheryl John. Or maybe it's because they still haven't been able to practice as a team.

Whatever the case, it didn't help them in the tournament.

The Lady Eagles lost to Bayfield in the first round, 46-37, then fell to Crownpoint in the consolation bracket.

"It's just a lot of having to get used to what we have right now," John said, adding that the team had little time to practice after coming off Thanksgiving break.

After losing to Crownpoint the Lady Eagles played Red Mesa for seventh place and took a 68-46 win.

Red Mesa

Red Mesa was given a new head coach three days before the tournament. But that didn't stop them from making a name for themselves last weekend.

They faced off with Shiprock and lost, 58-25, and again in the semifinals to Myramura, 48-42.

In their last chance for a win, they played Navajo Prep for seventh place, but lost, 68-46.

Red Mesa head coach Henrietta Haven said the experience was enough to show the girls the level of potential they had.

"The majority of our team, they're sophomores," Haven said. "I give these girls a lot of credit. One of our strong areas is our defense and they did fairly well. We surprised ourselves that we were hanging with Navajo Prep at halftime."

Myramura

The Myramura Lady Patriots are new but with a veteran coach like Marty Alderete, they just might get somewhere.

In round one, Myramura started off with a bang though they were defeated, 64-54, by the Cortez Lady Panthers.

With no seniors and three eighth grade players, the Lady Patriots had a good run with Red Mesa in the consolation semifinals. After trailing for three quarters, Myramura took control of the fourth quarter and the last three minutes to defeat Red Mesa, 48-43.

But they couldn't keep up with Crownpoint's outside shooters and lost the consolation championship, 67-43.

"We've been stressing to them you're going to face teams that have five or six seniors, that are mentally tougher than you, you just got to go out there and run them down," Alderete said. "I think they can turn into one of the top 16 teams in the state. It might be a goal and I might be putting too much pressure on them but when I asked them if they think they could make it they all said 'Yes we can.'"

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