CORTEZ – Oftentimes, a team’s character won’t truly appear when the team meets in a huddle when leading by 20 points.
Rather, a coach’s measuring stick of team investment comes during a timeout, trailing by 20.
Facing a Kirtland Central squad with New Mexico Class 4A state title aspirations, the Montezuma-Cortez girls basketball team were down by a bundle midway through the second quarter, in the huddle during a timeout. Surrounding fifth-year coach Brad Wright, the Panthers’ facial expressions and nods showed the visages of rapt attention and belief.
The Panthers burst from the huddle into a stunning 7-0 run to pull within 15, before the Broncos finally responded, eventually pulling away for a 79-42 victory. However, in a season of continual growth for M-CHS, the message was clear: they’re here for the full 32 minutes.
“They never quit,” Wright said after the game. “The girls played their hearts out. They understand the value of being a team, even when it’s harder in games like this.”
Through the bulk of their nonleague schedule, the Panthers are 4-3 entering the holiday break, with all three of their losses coming against Kirtland Central, 2020 and 2021 New Mexico 3A state champion Navajo Prep and Utah 1A heavyweight Monument Valley.
Montezuma-Cortez is above .500 entering the holiday break for the second time since 2015-16.
The Panthers haven’t backed down from a challenge as the calendar flips to 2024, and the state is beginning to take notice. Dominant wins in Gunnison over the host Cowboys (58-35) and Crested Butte (60-39) propelled the Panthers up the 3A rankings in the first release of the CHSAA Seeding Index – the metric for determining postseason assignments.
For the first time in years, M-CHS found themselves in the top 10, a clear indication that this year’s early-season success may have some staying power.
Balance has been the key for the Panthers – nine players scored in their win over Gunnison, including 15 from junior Taylor Whited and a career-high 13 from senior Kayce Tom. Freshman Milah Begay added eight in the win over Crested Butte, while Savannah Haselroth chipped in 17 points during that game.
Senior Markylla Jones has emerged as a rebounding machine, nearly averaging a double-double, while junior Kalea Ogo has led a strong supporting cast of stat-stuffing Panthers who have done the little things well to keep M-CHS on its current trajectory.
After averaging 37.9 points per game last year, M-CHS is averaging 53.6 points per game seven games into the 2023-24 campaign, thanks to crisper ball movement and improved shooting percentages.
The Panthers know the Intermountain League will hold its standard high-caliber challenges. Five of the six teams in the league found themselves in the top 10 of their respective classification rankings.
M-CHS will host Bayfield in its first action back from winter break on Jan. 12, followed a trip to Alamosa the following afternoon.
“We’ll be ready,” Wright said of his team’s ambitions to shake up the standard rankings in the 4A/3A IML, “they feel it on the court together – that they’re one of the better programs in the 3A – and they’ve gained a certain level of poise as a result.”
