Monument Valley girls win three, boys battle with tough opponents

by David Boyle
Monument Valley basketball teams played through a busy week on the road this past week with the girls going 3-0 in region play and the boys battling hard but coming up winless.
The week opened in Monticello on Tuesday, January 13 with the girls earning a 73-36 win over the Lady Buckaroos.
The Lady Cougars were led by Dakotah Cly who scored 21 points. Teammates Nesbah Hunt, Taylor Stanley, and LeighAn Atene each scored 12 points in the game. Malaya Blackmountain scored eight, while Ayainna Cly had six and Alaqua Holiday scored two.
Monticello was led by Maron Freestone who scored 12 points while Makenna Peterson scored ten, Marlee Mack had nine, Josie Mack scored four, and Olivia Plemons scored two.
Marlee Mack led the team with eight rebounds, while Freestone and Peterson each had two assists. Freestone had five steals and Peterson and Marlee Mack each recorded one block.
Speaking after the game Dakotah Cly said despite the win and scoring over 20 points she wasn’t satisfied. She said the team’s fast pace is based on practice and trust in teammates and that they continue to work to get better.
Cly followed up the big win with an announcement the following day that she’s committed to play college basketball for Dean College based in Franklin, Massachusetts.
In the boys game on January 13 Monticello defeated the Monument Valley Cougars 57-29. Cache Young led the Buckaroos with 16 points, Kord Young chipped in 13, and Triston Felix scored eight.
Logan Bowles socred seven, while Kooper Nielson scored four and Brandt Mack scored three. Charlie Welch, Seth Taylor, and Cash Mack all had two points apiece in the game.
Nielson and Cache Young each had seven rebounds while Kord Young had six rebounds. Neilson and Cache Young also led the team with four assists each. Kord Young, Jaeden Camacho, and Felix all recorded three steals and Seth Taylor had one block for Monticello.
The Cougars were led by Tarkale Tsosie and Jake Deswood who each scored ten points. Akcheta Shortman scored five while Alexander Hicks and Caleb Cly each scored two points.
Tsosie led the team with seven rebounds, Cly and Deswood both had two assists, while Deswood also recorded four steals in the game.
Monument Valley then made a weekend trip to Price and Green River. The girls earned a convincing 78-14 win against Pinnacle on Friday, January 16.
The Lady Cougars were led by Dakotah Cly who had 25 points. Nesbah Hunt scored 15 and Taylor Stanley had ten.
Naomi White and Malaya Blackmountain scored eight apiece, while LeighAn Atene scored four. Meliyah Holiday and Nizhoni Yazzie had three each while Ayainna Cly scored two.
The Monument Valley boys suffered an 80-58 loss to the Panthers. In the loss the Cougars were led by Shortman who scored 19 points. Deswood added 14 points, and Tsosie scored 12. Hicks scored six, Cly had four, and Riley Stanley scored three.
Tsosie earned a double-double as he pulled down ten rebounds to lead the team, while Shortman had nine. Stanley had four assists, and Deswood had six steals in the game.
On Saturday, January 17 the Monument Valley girls closed out the week with another win, this time over Green River 66-26.
Dakotah Cly led the way with 18 points, while Nesbah Hunt scored 11 and Taylor Stanley scored ten. Malayah Blackmountain scored nine, Nizhoni Yazzie had seven, LeighAn Atene scored five, Ayainna Cly scored four, and Alaqua Holiday scored two points in the win.
The Cougar boys lost to Green River 86-45. Leading scoring for Monument Valley was Cly with 15 points. Tsosie scored nine, Deswood had seven, Shortman and Hicks scored six each, and Stanley had two points.
Tsosie led the team with nine rebounds, Deswood had two assists, Cly had three steals and Deswood had a block in the game.