Whitehorse girls basketball team gathers momentum in regular season homestretch

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Whitehorse High School girls basketball team has won five games in a row and 11 of their last 12 dating back to December 19.
Their only loss in that span was to San Juan on January 20 and most recently the Lady Raiders have racked up wins over Green River; Pinnacle; Monticello; Many Farms, AZ; and Escalante.
The team is a very impressive 15-4 on the season, ranked sixth in the 1A standings after this past week’s action.
Whitehorse dominated their game with Monticello on Tuesday, January 27, leading 13-5 after one quarter and 25-13 at halftime on the way to a 55-34 final.
Keiarra Martin led the team with 23 points in the win with five three-pointers. Hannah Clark scored ten points for the Lady Raiders, Lakyara Begay tallied seven, and Keira Chee got six.
Maria Yellowman scored four points, Malia Sam and Mateja Joe both got two apiece, and Kaleigh Chee rounded out the Whitehorse scoring with one point.
Keira Chee pulled down seven rebounds in the win while Malia Sam and Lakyara Begay both got six apiece. Hannah Clark led the team with four assists and five steals.
Makenna Peterson led Monticello scoring with 15 points, while Maron Freestone scored eight. Nicole Francom and Marlee Mack had four points apiece. Tessa Slade had two and Josie Mack scored one.
Slade and Peterson both recorded six rebounds each, Peterson led the Lady Bucks with three assists, and Marlee Mack recorded four steals in the game. Josie Mack had three blocks.
Speaking after the game, Clark said the Raiders played as a team in the game.
"The team chemistry that we all have and it was pretty good that we worked the ball transition everything that we practiced, it all worked here. So, I'm I'm pretty proud of my team.”
Clark added it was a whole team effort.
“Especially working the ball around, but I think I would give kudos to our bigs, you know, especially the sisters Kaleigh and Keira Chee,”
Clark also had praise for her coaches.
“(Assistant Coach Derick Dickson) gives us the motivation. He makes us lock in, get into place. (Head Coach) Joni (Dickson), she just makes sure that we all have that team chemistry. We're all connecting, clicking together. So, I think that's really good really coaching.”
On Friday, January 30 the Whitehorse girls traveled to Many Farms, AZ. Again, they dominated, crushing the Lady Lobos in a Four Corners rivalry showdown 72-37.
Martin scored 33 points, Clark tallied 14, and Yellowman poured in 13. Keira Chee collected seven points, Begay got three, and Kelaigha Nakai had two.
Martin hit a very impressive six threes while Yellowman got one. Keira Chee pulled down nine rebounds, Malia Sam had seven, and Martin got five.
In addition to all her scoring Martin was also unselfish, assisting on seven Lady Raider buckets. She also tallied a team-high six steals in the win.
The Whitehorse girls got an early start to this week with a trip to Escalante, UT for a Region 20 crossover with the Lady Moquis on Monday, February 2.
The first quarter was a battle and the home team held a 12-11 advantage at the buzzer. But Whitehorse came on in the second frame to outscore Escalante 22-14 and take a 33-26 lead into halftime.
The Lady Raiders scored another 20 points in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 53-39. Both teams tallied 20 points apiece in a very offensive fourth quarter as Whitehorse took the win 73-59.
Keiarra Martin is second in the state with a 26.4 points-per-game average and 77 three-pointers on the season. She’s tied for third with 5.6 steals per game. Hannah Clark is tied for tenth in Utah with 4.4 assists per game.
The Whitehorse boys suffered a 45-38 loss at Monticello on January 27 and a tight 69-65 loss at Escalante on Monday.
The Raiders led 14-10 after the first quarter in Monticello but the Buckaroos outscored them 25-10 in the second and third quarters to seize control.
Adam Joe led Whitehorse with 14 points in the loss. Hyatt Thomas had 12 including a couple three-point buckets. Tristan Black scored six, Tyrell Black three, Alexander Thompson two, and Elam Etsitty one.
Brandt Mack was the top Monticello scorer with 16 points. Cache Young scored ten, Kord Young added seven, Kooper Nielson and Jackson Keyes scored four apiece, and Jaeden Camacho and Tristan Felix both scored two.
The game with Escalante this past Monday, February 2 was hard-fought. The Raiders trailed 13-12 after one quarter and 30-25 at the half.
But they gained three points in the third quarter to head into the fourth down by just two 47-45. The Moquis got just what they needed, scoring 22 fourth-quarter points to Whitehorse’s 20.
The Whitehorse boys are 7-12 on the season, ranked 14th in the 1A standings. It’s a very busy week for both teams as they work toward closing out their regular seasons.
In addition to their games at Escalante on Monday, both teams played Tuesday night at Wayne after the San Juan Record print deadline. They will host Pinnacle on Thursday, February 5.
The boys will finish the week at home against Milford on Friday, February 6 and both teams close out their regular seasons with a Battle of the Drum matchup against Monument Valley at home on Thursday, February 12.