Monument Valley girls get exceptional showing at state tournament, overcome adversity to finish fifth
by David Boyle
News Director
The Monument Valley High School girl's basketball team finished fifth at the 1A Utah State Tournament this past weekend. The Cougars went 3-1 at the tournament, with their only loss coming to eventual champion Wayne in a close and controversial game.
Monument Valley opened the tournament with a 73-38 victory over Altamont on Wednesday, March 1. The Lady Cougars built a 24-12 lead after one quarter and extended the lead to 43-20 at halftime. The Cougars shot 47 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.
After three quarters, Monument Valley led Altamont 55-30 with the final score favoring the Cougars 73-38. Monument Valley shot 42 percent from the field on the game and 35 percent from three.
Monument Valley’s Alyah Blackwater had a special performance in the game, recording a 16-steal triple-double. Blackwater’s 16 steals were the second most in Utah high school girls basketball history and the most ever in a playoff game. Blackwater scored 18 points and recorded ten rebounds for the triple-double.
The Cougars were led in scoring by Shimequa Hudson, who scored 20 points in the contest. Precious Bedonie scored 11, Chianne Bedoni and Nevaeh Wilson each scored seven, while Shikeeya Hudson scored six and Raemi Nez added four.
The Cougars had 42 rebounds, including Blackwater’s ten, Shimequa Hudson with nine, Shikeeya Hudson and Precious Bednoie with seven each, and Wilson with six.
Blackwater also recorded six assists and one block. Shimequa Hudson, Chianne Bedoni, and Raemi Nez all had four steals as well.
Speaking after the win, Cougar Coach Terri James said she was proud of her team and the leadership from team captain Alyah Blackwater.
“If she has a good game, the rest of the team steps up and has a really good game. I got word that she was one steal away from the record in the third quarter and I told her.”
Blackwater said she was focused on not picking up another foul while going for those steals. “I tried getting one more steal. I was thinking, oh she shouldn’t have told me until after the game but I did it and I’m glad I did it.”
In the quarterfinal matchup, the #5 Cougars played the #4 Wayne Badgers. Wayne jumped out to an early lead 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and extended their lead to 39-21 at halftime. Through one half the Cougars had nine team fouls while the Badgers had six.
Monument Valley closed the gap in the third quarter to 46-36. In the fourth quarter, the Cougars continued to close the gap and went on a 14-4 run. The rally culminated when Shimequa Hudson stole the ball and passed ahead to Blackwater who scored to tie the game 50-50 with four minutes remaining.
On the next possession, Wayne drew a foul on Monument Valley and hit two free throws. The Cougars responded with a Mariah Begaye three-point bucket to give Monument Valley their first lead since the start of the first quarter, 53-52.
The lead was short-lived however. Monument Valley was called for a foul – one of 18 calls against the Cougars in the second half. By comparison, only six fouls were called on Wayne in the second half.
In the last four minutes of the game, Wayne shot 18 free throws while the Cougars shot just two. The Badgers converted 21 of their 37 free throws in the game to secure a 63-55 victory.
Speaking after the game, Coach Terri James shared that her girls were devastated. “They felt like no matter what they did, the officiating wasn’t going their way,” she said.
“It was a tough loss. I’ve never seen my team cry after a game. They did. I just told them to keep their heads up, we’ve got to come back and play our game tomorrow and do the best that we can.”
Coach James added that she heard comments that the Cougar style of play made fouls look offset. “It shouldn’t matter what style of play we play,” stated James.
“Refereeing should stay equal, same, fair. I told the girls it doesn’t matter what the refs call, it doesn’t matter what’s said, we’re just going to go out there and play our game and be the team that we are.”
The Cougars were led in scoring by Blackwater, who finished with 18 points. Nez scored 11 while Wilson had ten points. Shikeeya Hudson and Mariah Begaye each scored six, while Shimequa Hudson and Precious Bedonie each scored two.
Nez led the team with eight rebounds while Wilson had six. Blackwater recorded six assists while Precious Bedonie and the Hudson sisters all had three steals each in the game.
The Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) is reviewing allegations and questions about the officiating at the tournament. “Game film is regularly reviewed by the officials committee,” explained Jeff Cluff, Assistant Director of the UHSAA. “The UHSAA has zero tolerance when it comes to discrimination.”
Despite the disappointment of the quarterfinal loss, the Monument Valley girls bounced back with a win over #8 Panguitch on Friday, March 3. The Cougars took the floor for warm-ups in traditional ribbon skirts.
Coach James explained the skirts were made by the school secretary LaNell Menard-Parrish. “They take a lot of pride of their heritage and their culture and I agree with them it needs to be shared and shown,” said James.
Blackwater said the team felt powerful warming up in the ribbon skirts. “When you represent your culture it’s empowering. It makes your soul feel good, it makes your mind at ease, and it’s just very helpful.”
In the first half, Panguitch built a 21-13 lead but Monument Valley once again came roaring back in the second half. They made the score 29-24 after three quarters before completing the comeback in the fourth quarter for a final score of 41-33.
Blackwater again led the scoring with nine. Shimequa Hudson scored eight and Wilson had seven. Precious Bedonie scored sixs while Mariah Begaye and Shikeeya Hudson scored four, Nez had two, and Chianne Bedoni scored one.
Wilson recorded eight rebounds while Precious Bedonie, Blackwater, and Shimequa Hudson had six boards. Hudson also recorded eight steals on the game while Blackwater had four steals and four assists.
A big part of the victory was Shimequa Hudson’s eight points from the free-throw line. “It took not listening to the crowd and staying focused on the free throws. I never listened to them,” she said afterwards.
Hudson added praise for her sister Shikeeya, “She did good. She stole some balls. My little sister she’s the best.”
Precious Bedonie said the game meant a lot to the team. “It really means a lot to me to play one more game with the seniors. They’re like sisters.”
Senior Raemi Nez felt that her game could’ve gone better, and she added a great one for the final game of the season. “I feel that I could’ve played better. It is what it is. I’ll play better next game.”
Nez did just that leading scorers with 14 points as the Lady Cougars defeated Piute 50-48 in the fifth-place game on the final day of the season. Monument Valley built a 23-19 halftime lead but a strong third quarter from Piute gave the Thunderbirds a 37-30 lead after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Cougars once again took a lead late to secure a 50-48 victory.
Monument Valley was led in scoring by Nez who finished with 14 while Blackwater finished with 12. Wilson scored nine while Shikeeya Hudson scored seven. Precious Bedonie had four while Shimequa Hudson and Mariah Begaye each scored two.
Blackwater led the team with nine rebounds five assists and six steals. Precious Bedonie and Shimequa Hudson also had three steals in the game.
Following the tournament, senior Chianne Bedoni reflected on the relationship she has with her teammates “I love the bond that we all have together.”
Fellow senior Alyah Blackwater thanked her family, teammates, coaches, and community members for their support and growth over the years.
“These girls made a good impression in front of everyone and they did an amazing job. I thank them for giving me a great season. I’m going to miss it.”
Monument Valley seniors include Chianne Bedoni, Alyah Blackwater, Earlynda Bedonie, Lillianna Fatt, and Raemi Nez.
Coach James had high praise for the character of the Monument Valley team. “This is a good group of girls. They have good sportsmanship. They’ve just always been a great group of girls.”
The girls showed excellent sportsmanship at the state tournament. Whenever a girl fouled out of a game they went to the opposing bench to shake hands with the coach and players, even amidst the frustration of the calls in the quarterfinal game.
Monument Valley also showed tremendous sportsmanship before their game on Friday as the announcers commemorated a Panguitch student who had recently succumbed to cancer.
Following the announcement, the Cougars placed their arms around the Panguitch team and joined them for the announcing of the starting lineups.
The Lady Cougars finished the season with a 19-6 record. They were undefeated Region 23 champions and fifth at the 1A state tournament.
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