Senior Jonnie Willie pushing the ball in transition during the Lady Steers close win against Ramah.
Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain photos

 

The weekend after losing its head coach, the Lady Steers came out for a big game against the Ramah Lady Mustangs. New head coach Sara Sue Olney led the girls to a tough 35-22 victory.

“We’re just trying to get through right now,” Olney said. “Our team is not so concerned about the scoreboard. We’re just trying to get through a long week. At this point we’re not concerned with the fundamentals. That will happen in the weeks to come. But right now I am seeing pure effort and togetherness from this team.”

Freshman Jorianne Mirabal was doing her best to find open teammates on each possession against the Ramah defense.

December 10 had the JV girls team hitting the floor first. Steers boy’s starters Joren Mirabal and Josh Baca played as guest referees during the game. The Lady Mustangs were up 20-13 at the half. The Lady Steers cut the lead for Ramah down to three in the fourth with Jasmine Apachito hitting a midrange shot to start the 4th quarter. Ramah was able to hold on for a narrow first game win 30-27.

Next up was the varsity Lady Warriors who came out of the tunnel ready to go. Senior Jonnie Willie scored first off a sweet rebound put-back off the glass. From that point it was poor shooting for both teams as airballs were abundant on the court.

Magdalena was up 11-4 after one. Junior Gerleanzy Ganadonegro was hot with multiple rebounds before taking a tough spill on the court, suffering a left knee bruise. After a rest on the bench Ganadonegro did return and was all over the offensive glass for Magdalena.

It was 18-12 at the half. In the third quarter, the Lady Steers began to play press defensive and it was too much for Ramah. Senior Kenzie Silva and freshman Jorianne Mirabal were pressing every pass the Lady Mustangs made.

“This week has been hard,” Mirabal said. “But we know coach Greenwood is here with us. Tonight wasn’t my best game. Had a lot of turnovers I need to clean up. Fortunately my teammates stepped it up and had my back so that we could get the win.”

Silva hit a sweet floater to end the third quarter at the buzzer to make 26-14 that was the turning point to seal the deal for Magdalena.

“We are definitely mentally and physically tired right now,” she said. “But we came together and pushed tonight. We got it done is all that matters.”

Coach Olney spoke with her team after the game about the importance of a win like this in the locker room.

“Taking over for Marleen wasn’t really a decision,” Olney said. “It was more of a feeling that I had to. Being the first one to tell the players about what happened last week was one of the toughest days of my life. I know that she would never have wanted to see this program go down the drain. Delivering that information to the kids was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.”

With the win, the Lady Steers sit at 3-2 and are in first place in the 3A district. Next up is the Tohatchi tournament beginning on December 16. The team will return home after the holidays on December 30 against Fort Sumner.

NM Class A Standings:

  1. Magdalena; 3-2.
  2. Alamo Navajo; 3-3.
  3. Mountainair; 1-2.
Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain Sports Editor