Monticello girls suffer loss to Monument Valley, beat Pinnacle to close season

by David Boyle
News Director
The Monticello girls basketball team hosted Region 23 Champions Monument Valley on Valentine’s Day and they definitely didn’t get a sweet Valentine from the Cougars.
Monument Valley jumped out to a 33-17 lead in the first half, then exploded in the second half to win the game going away 74-33.
Precious Bedonie led scoring for the Cougars with 20 points in the contest. Alyah Blackwater scored 17 and Raemi Nez scored 15 points. Mariah Begaye scored five points while sisters Shimequa and Shikeeya Hudson each tallied four points.
Keilana Smith, Earlynda Bedonie, Chianne Bedoni, and Nevaeh Wilson all scored two points for Monument Valley.
Avery Shumway led the way for Monticello with ten points in the game. Fellow senior Nikki Gomez scored nine points while Jemma Robison, Kahryme Alvarado, and Kaymee Freestone each scored four points. Rosy Beh rounded out Monticello’s attack with two points.
On Friday, February 17 the Lady Buckaroos made the trip to Price to take on the Pinnacle Panthers, a team they had beaten earlier in the year.
Monticello built a 13-5 lead after one quarter but saw that lead slip to 20-15 at halftime. After three quarters Monticello still held the lead 33-23. At one point Monticello’s lead dwindled to as low as six points but they surged on and won the final quarter and the game 41-30.
Monticello senior Rosy Beh said the team enjoyed the close contest. “It was a lot of fun. We definitely struggled a little bit but I think we were able to come together as a team and play hard.”
Pinnacle was able to get several Monticello starters into foul trouble, helping them keep the game close. Kahryme Alvarado was knocked down a couple of times trying to draw a charge but was grateful for her teammates who lifted her back up.
“I know they’ve got my back and having fouls is no fun. You get taken out but they’re with me the whole way. They tell me to keep my head up, not every call can be what we want it to be.”
Despite being undersized, Alvarado helped the Lady Bucks clean up on the boards. “We work a lot on rebounds, boxing out, especially when we know we’re not the tallest team. We’ve really got to use that to our advantage.”
Beh added that she was grateful to step on the court for the last time in the regular season. “I just can’t appreciate my team enough or my coaches. They sacrifice so much and I’m eternally grateful for them.”
Robison led MHS scoring with 14 points in the game. Shumway scored nine while Kenlee Atwood scored seven. Gomez and Beh each had four points, Alvarado scored two, and Braylee Freestone scored one.
Monticello earned the #17 seed in the state tournament and will travel to take on #16 Intermountain Christian this Saturday, February 25. If they win they’ll take on #1 Rich March 1 at 1 p.m. The games in Richfield will be broadcast on Redrock 92 Radio.