Lady Cougars’ rally falls short in 46-40 loss to Dora

Alamo Navajo’s Koolonna Apachito and the Lady Cougars were upended in their state tournament game.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain photos

ALAMO—Despite a wild 21-point fourth quarter, the Lady Cougars couldn’t dig themselves out of a 22-point deficit. It was close as No. 5 Alamo Navajo fell 46-40 to No. 11 Dora on March 3 in the first round of the state girls Class A basketball tournament.

Early jitters led to missed shots when the Lady Cougars (21-7) got inside. They had problems making shots but kept it close as they trailed 9-6 heading into the second quarter. When Dora (19-9) dropped back from a full-court press into a zone, Alamo had problems penetrating the paint.

Alamo’s failure to score when inside was compounded by its usually solid outside going cold, and turnovers led to Dora taking a 29-7 lead at halftime.

“The first three quarters, we beat ourselves,” Alamo coach J.J. Apachito said. “In the fourth quarter, we found ourselves, but there’s just not enough time. I think if we had another two minutes, we could have won it.”

Alamo emerged from the halftime locker room to run out a 10-10 third quarter before exploding for a 21-point fourth quarter with Janea Vicente, Sapphira Sandoval, Elliana Guerro, Claire Apachito and Koolonna Apachito combining to spearhead the charge.

The loss was crushing for the Lady Cougars’ four seniors Hailey Apachito, McKinzie Mexicano, Elliana Guerro and Koolonna Apachito. The team spent an extended period in the locker room following the loss.

Sapphira Sandoval is comforted by her mother following Alamo’s loss.

“My seniors there putting in many, many hours and many not just practice time, but extra hours of overtime on themselves working on their game,” Apachito “My senior (daughter Hailey) has taken this loss really hard.”

At the same time, Apachito was reminded he has a young and talented team that will be using the sting of this loss as fuel for the future.

“I just told them that sometimes life is tough, and things don’t always go your way all the time,” Apachito said. “I told them, you guys stood there and fought to the end, which I’m very proud of. So, I told them don’t quit on anything. See how we bounced back. You may be down, but you can come back.”

Alamo’s accomplishments include winning the District 3-1A regular-season and tournament titles. The Lady Cougars were 8-0 in league play this year.

The 2023 Alamo Lady Cougars include (points) Hailey Apachito (6), Janea Vicente (3), Sapphire Sandoval (9)(, McKinzie Mexicano, Alvina Apachito, Valaria Cheny, Elliana Guerro (7), Claire Apachito (4), Katelyn Stockham, Alexandra Jake, Koolonna Apachito (5), Tiana Apachito, Layla Apache, Samara Guerro.