Alamo basketball players shine in Striking Eagle Tournament

Four Alamo basketball teams competed in the Striking Eagle Tournament this past week. The first round was at home for the Cougars on Monday, Dec. 22: the junior high (JH) girls won 51-21, JH boys won 52-26, the varsity girls won 48-33 versus Zuni and varsity boys lost 52-49 to Mescalero Apache. 

The next two rounds of the tournament took place on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 26-27, in Gallup. The junior high teams played at Hozho Academy. The varsity teams play at Miyamura High School. 

Junior High

Both Alamo junior high teams came away as tournament champions. After their wins at home against Nanelzhiin Torrean Middle School in round one, they each played against and beat To’hajiilee in their final matches on Friday, Dec. 26. 

Lady Cougars

The Lady Cougars easily won their first game against the Zuni Thunderbirds. It was a closer game early on, but Alamo just kept extending their lead throughout the game to win it 48-33.

“It's special for me, because I sat out for two years and to come back and win the first round is very special to me.” Lady Cougars Head Coach Randy Hunt said after the Dec. 22 game.

The Lady Cougars moved to 3-4 for the season after that victory, but the win also placed them in the winner’s bracket with stiffer competition.

“You know, in these tournaments, we could have lost our first game and played against teams that are struggling and learning like us, but we won our first game which put us against top 10 teams,” Hunt said. “We played a very solid team from Pinon, Arizona. They're definitely in the top five in their district in Arizona. They played a tough man-to-man and were very physical.”

Alamo lost that tough game 63-45. Tisha Mexicano led the team in scoring with 12 points, Butterfly Secatero had 11 points, Ania Torres had eight and Layla Apache had seven.

“Saturday, we played another top ranked team in our class, To’hajililee Lady Warriors.” Hunt said. 

The final score was 61-51 in favor of To’hajiilee.

“We were tied in the fourth quarter after a courageous comeback led by Trisha Mexicano who had nine points, three out of three from long range, and Layla Apache who also had two out of two from long range. The Lady Warriors called a time-out and settled down and kept us from coming back in a closely contested game.” Hunt said.

Butterfly Secatero , a ninth grader, had 10 points but was sidelined during that critical fourth quarter with a sprained knee. Secatero was chosen as an All-Tourney selection for her efforts throughout the tournament. Hunt gave additional shout-outs to two other players who had solid performances in the tournament.

“Layla Apache had 16 points and is starting to shoot much better and is becoming one of our leaders. Tisha Mexicano had 12 points and is becoming a solid player like we had hoped she would be.” Hunt said.

Playing these stronger teams may not look good for the season record right now, but Hunt sees the improvement and is looking farther ahead towards district play and then hopefully state.

“Every game we have played has been a learning experience for this young team of ours. How to pass the ball up the court to the open receiver rather than trying to dribble through that tough pressure. We are learning the hard way but playing teams like this will get us ready.” Hunt said. “We have placed fourth in two tournaments and are gaining valuable experience towards our ultimate goal of winning our district and reaching the state tournament.”

The Lady Cougars are now 3-6 for the season and have a break before their next game, which will be against the Quemado Eagles on Jan. 8.

Cougars

The Cougars lost their round one game at home in a nail-biter. After a fairly even first quarter, the Cougars were down by 16 at halftime after a series of traveling calls that the Mescalero Apache Chiefs took advantage of fully. 

Alamo battled right back to tie it up again in the third quarter, and then the fourth quarter was back and forth right down to the wire. The Chiefs made a run and retook a significant lead, and the Cougars fought back to within one point, 50-49 with about a minute left.

Cougars Head Coach Lemuel Guerro reflected on the team’s performance in that first game.

“We need to play defense, everyone wants to play offense but we have to stop our opponents on the defensive side of the court. Continue to build on teamwork, using everyone on court. Each of them brings something to the team.” Guerro said.

That loss put the Cougars in the consolation bracket when they traveled to Gallup for the final two rounds. The resilient Alamo team returned to true form and came out victorious in the next two games to win the consolation bracket. 

On Friday, Dec. 26, the Cougars beat the Greyhills Academy Knights, from Tuba City, Ariz., 68-14. The next day, on Dec. 27, the Cougars beat the Crownpoint Eagles 68-46.

The Cougars are now 6-3 for the season and have a break before their next game, which will be against the Quemado Eagles on Jan. 8.