FARMINGTON – The Navajo Prep High School girls basketball team dominated district rival Tohatchi by a final score of 57-29 on Tuesday night at the Eagles’ Nest, setting the tone in District 1-3A competition early.
Tuesday night’s game was a rematch of last year’s Class 3A championship game, a game in which saw Navajo Prep win the blue trophy by a score of 41-26. It’s the 32nd meeting between the two girls basketball squads since 2012 with the Eagles holding a 19-13 advantage in those matchups.
In the 2023-2024 season, the Eagles posted a 3-2 record against Tohatchi, defeating the Cougars as well in the district tournament championship game. Before play, Navajo Prep entered as the third best team in Class 3A according to recent coaches’ polls, while Tohatchi carried the number five rank.
“Playing Tohatchi the first round of district is tough and tonight just happened to be our night,” Navajo Prep head coach Rainy Crisp said. “This is the most important part of our season, so we have to be ready for every team that comes up.”
Navajo Prep didn’t waste any time grabbing the momentum after converting on four 3-pointers, one from senior Eva Poyer and three from junior Kameron Dale.
The onslaught of 3-pointers gave Navajo Prep a sizeable lead early, and its stingy defense made sure it was a lead the Eagles would not surrender.
Playing a man press defense, Navajo Prep used its conditioned athletes to be aggressive and throw Tohatchi off rhythm, keeping the 5-foot, 7-inch senior WynterRose Sheka off the scoreboard.
Navajo Prep’s defense only allowed 11 points in the first half, while its offense put up 34, commanding the court either through 3-point shots or utilizing passing lanes to drive the inside the key for jump shots.
“We’re playing together as a team,” Crisp said. “I have a young bench, and they have really given me the confidence that they can handle this level, and I can put them in at crucial times. There’s a toughness in our team; it was really rocky in the beginning but I love how they are going out and competing and believing in themselves.”
The momentum didn’t stall for Navajo Prep, but instead senior Shiloh Conn hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put immense pressure on Tohatchi to be perfect in the second half.
Despite being down by double-digits, Tohatchi only attempted three shots beyond the 3- point line. The Cougars struggled with its two-point field goals, ending the night 5-for-27.
Navajo Prep shot 15-for-26 in two-point field goals, and 9-for-17 from the 3-point marker with both translating to over 50 percent in each area.
Dale led the Eagles in scoring with 16 points on the night, followed by senior Lailah McGary who put up a 10 point effort.
The loss was the fifth in a row for Tohatchi (6-8, 0-1 district) as it will look to get right when it welcomes Crownpoint Thursday at 7 p.m.
For Navajo Prep (10-5, 1-0 district), Tuesday’s victory was the fifth in a row for the Eagles and the second in which Navajo Prep defeated a team ranked in the top five of Class 3A according to coaches’ polls, having taken down number one West Las Vegas last Saturday.
The Eagles will look to keep things rolling when it travels to Thoreau Thursday at 7 p.m.
| TEAM | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FINAL |
| Cougars | 6 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 29 |
| Eagles | 20 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 57 |