Lady Bruins lose to Ganado in playoffs<br>

Ganado — Ganado held on to beat Hopi, 52-48, Feb. 11 in the opening round of the 3A North girls basketball playoffs.

Hopi finished the season with an 11-13 mark. Ganado’s next opponent was Holbrook on Feb. 12.

Melissa Peterson topped Ganado with 13 points, Waynette Taylor and Hope Willie netted nine apiece, Andrea Preston tossed in eight, Tonya Yazzie scored a half dozen, Tawna Kee chipped in with four and Connie Ambrose added three points.

Cynthia Lee paced Hopi with 11, Chassity Gould netted 10, Mallory Shattuck chipped in with seven, Jvette Yoyokie, Delaine Numkena and Deidre Jones scored six each and Tara Secakuku had a deuce.

Hopi High Coach Rick Baker said the Lady Bruins started slow, came back in the second half and pulled within three, but then were hurt by free throws.

Ganado connected on 20 of 29 foul shots while Hopi was held to seven of 13 from the charity stripe.

Coach Baker said the Hopi offense struggled throughout the night.

“Our defense kept us in the game with its full court pressure, but then we had too many turnovers,” he said.

Baker said the Lady Bruins held their own rebounding against the taller Ganado team. He said Gould played a good overall game and Lee performed well off the bench.

Hopi will lose seven seniors to graduation, but will have five returners. Coach Baker said the Lady Bruins can expect to improve as they plan to play 30-40 games during the summer and continue to work on their weight and speed training.

“We did the best with what we had this year. We’re hoping to improve next year,” he said.

Peterson poured in six points in the opening quarter as Ganado zoomed to a 15-6 edge. Lee led Hopi with three points in the first period.

Peterson fired in another six points as Ganado built the cushion to 30-18 at intermission. Lee netted a half dozen points in the second stanza to keep Hopi close.

The Lady Bruins came roaring back in the third quarter as Shattuck, Yoyokie and Jones scored four apiece as

Hopi pulled within 39-33. Taylor tossed in five points in the third period for Ganado.

Gould scored seven points in the final quarter for Hopi as the Lady Bruins kept the Lady Hornets on their toes. But Yazzie countered with six points for Ganado as the Lady Hornets grabbed the victory.