Monument Valley and Whitehorse basketball teams strong at SENAI

The Monument Valley and Whitehorse high school basketball teams traveled to the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque to participate in the tenth annual Striking Eagle Native American Invitational December 28-30.

The tournament is one of the largest annual Native American high school basketball tournaments in the nation, with more than 30 teams in attendance.

Finishing first in the Bear Bracket was the Monument Valley boys team. The Cougars beat Alamo Navajo 56-45 in the title game. The boys also beat Tse Yi Gai and To’hajiilee at the tournament.

The Whitehorse boys basketball team also played in the title game of the Eagle Bracket. The Raiders fell to Dulce 47-35 in the championship game after defeating Mescalero Apache 51-42 and Newcomb 88-53 to advance to the title game.

The Monument Valley girls team finished third in their bracket, earning a win over Ramah 65-39 before losing to eventual tournament champions To’hajiilee in a nailbiter 37-36. The Lady Cougars bounced back in the consolation round, defeating Pine Hill 45-29.

The Whitehorse girls finished fourth in their bracket, handily defeating Native American Community Academy 54-34 before dropping their next two games to Navajo Prep and Mescalero Apache.

The Whitehorse and Monument Valley girls and boys face off in their first Battle of the Drum in nearly two years on Wedneday, January 12.

Both varsity games will video stream live at PictureItPalmer.com along with a radio broadcast on Redrock 92.7 FM.

The girls game is scheduled to tip at 5:30 p.m. with the boys scheduled for 7 p.m.