Lady Cougars maul Mustangs 73-30, win district title

Hailey Apachito and the Lady Cougars are ready for the state basketball playoffs.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

ALAMO—Coach J.J. Apachito had to pull on the reins early because he wanted to work out his entire team, as the Lady Cougars had all the points they needed after the first quarter to top Mountainair on Feb. 18.

Alamo Navajo completed a perfect District 3-1A slate with an 8-0 mark (20-6 overall). The Lady Cougars left no doubts they had unfinished business with a 31-2 run in the first quarter that turned into a 73-30 runaway.

Senior Hailey Apachito’s nine points led the first-quarter surge, Alvina Apachito chipped in 7 and Sapphire Sandoval had five.

One way for a team to avoid enacting the 35-point mercy rule is to work on different aspects of its offense. Apachito elected to run in his younger players to work the perimeter, hoping to find a way in for backdoor points.

Apachito is just like other coaches; he pays attention to the “basketball talk” and reports and looks for ways to refine his team.

“I feel like our team could use a little more work on the inside game,” Apachito said. “I think the whole state sees us as an outside team. So, we’ve been working hard on the inside game, and it’s coming along. We have a couple of girls who are stepping up, posting, and taking into the paint.”

Koolonna Apachito is the starter inside and has lots of power to block out her opponents. She left the game with an ankle sprain but was seen walking without aid after the contest.

“Koolonna will be fine and ready for us in the championship game,” Apachito said. “We are going to have to box out better than we have been.”

The Lady Cougars were consistent with their positioning under the basket against Mountainair on the defensive end of their game. Still, Apachito was spot on that Alamo needs to shore up its offensive rebounding.

Scoring

Hailey Apachito 21, Janea Vicente 2, Sapphire Sandoval 8, Alvina Apachito 7, Elliana Guerro 12, Claire Apachito 6, Alexandria Jake 2, Koolonna Apachito 4, Tiana Apachito 4, Layla Apache 4, Samera Guerro 3.