Whitehorse girls sweep week, Raider boys and Monument Valley boys suffer losses

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The Whitehorse High School girls basketball team enjoyed a nice week that included easy wins over Pinnacle Academy and Bryce Valley on January 30 and February 2.
The Lady Raiders dominated the Lady Panthers at home on January 30 in a 70-28 Region 19 victory, then spanked the Lady Mustangs 48-20 in a Region 20 crossover.
Alyssa Eltsosie led scoring for Whitehorse against Pinnacle with 19 points including a trio of three-point baskets. Keiarra Martin scored 11 in the win, Laila Etsitty had nine, and Lamyia Benally added eight.
Kiera Chee scored seven points, Heidi Clark got six, and Shayla Miller five. Harmony Thomas, Kayla Mitchell, and Dakotah Cly all scored four apiece and Shunbaah Begay rounded out the scoring with two points.
Mitchell led the way against Bryce Valley with eight points. Heidi Clark and Benally both scored seven apiece, and Thomas poured in six.
Shantel Begay, Martin, Chee, and Shunbaah Begay all scored four each in the win with Hannah Clark and Shayla Miller each adding two.
The Lady Raiders have won eight of their last nine games and are now 13-5 on the season, ranked seventh in the 1A RPI standings.
They had a big test on Tuesday, February 6 with the final Battle of the Drum this season against Monument Valley. The game was played in Montezuma Creek after the San Juan Record press deadline.
The past week wasn’t as smooth for the Whitehorse boys. They suffered three straight losses to Pinnacle, Escalante, and Bryce Valley, falling to 8-11 on the season.
As he has all season Raider senior Lyric Phillips continued to dominate, despite the three losses. He scored 25 points against Pinnacle with four threes, 33 against Escalante with a stunning nine threes, and 29 against Bryce Valley with six threes.
Larenz Tsosie scored seven points against Pinnacle, Kalin Tohonnie got five, Adam Joe added four, and Tristan Black and Elam Etsitty rounded out the Whitehorse scoring with three apiece. Black, Tsosie, Tohonnie, and Etsitty hit one three-pointer apiece in the loss.
Against Escalante Dominic Dance scored six points, Tsosie got four, Etsitty added three, and Tohonnie, Black, and Kaleb Joe all scored two each.
Against Bryce Valley Dance scored 13, Tsosie six, Adam Joe five, and Tohonnie three. Tsosie hit two threes in the game and Dance had one.
The Whitehorse boys are 13th in the 1A RPI standings and, like the girls, had just one game scheduled this week – the Battle of the Drum at home against Monument Valley on Tuesday, February 6.
Speaking of Monument Valley, the girls somehow had the past week off. Their game with Pinnacle Academy originally scheduled for February 2 has been rescheduled on February 15.
The Lady Cougars continue to be the top-ranked team in our area. They’re #1 in the 1A standings with a 15-1 record.
They competed against longtime rival Whitehorse in the Battle of the Drum on February  6 in their only game this week.
The Monument Valley boys suffered two losses this past weekend, 80-65 to Pinnacle on February 2 and 72-41 against the top-ranked boys team in the area, Green River, on February 3.
Three Cougars scored in double digits in the loss to Pinnacle. Melias Cly scored 27 points, Joshua Hicks got 21, and Braxton Goodshield scored 11.
Akecheta Shortman rounded out Monument Valley scoring with six points. Cly hit three three-pointers in the game, Joshua Hicks got two, and Braxton Goodshield added one.
Cly led the way against Green River also with 16 points. Braxton Goodshield scored 13 points including a pair of three-pointers. Hicks scored six points with Brice Goodshield, Shortman, and Tobias Grey adding two points apiece.
The Cougars are 5-15 on the season, ranked 18th in the 1A standings. They also competed in the final Battle of the Drum of the season on Tuesday, February 6. Look for results on those rivalry showdowns in the February 14 issue of the San Juan Record.