For a young basketball team, the first few weeks of the season can set the tone for the rest of the season.
Playing in the rigorous Jerry Richardson Memorial Lady Chieftain Invitational in Shiprock, the Panthers girls basketball program showed the mettle of a team much wiser than their years.
The Panthers rallied back from a heartbreaking loss against Pine Hill to pick up their first victory of the season – a 41-36 win over Whitehorse. The victory capped a 1-2 weekend, and taught fourth-year head coach Brad Wright that this year’s group is already showing signs of resilience.
M-CHS, coming off its best season in 10 years, lost a lot of scoring to graduation, which means the program will turn its leadership over to a junior-led group.
“We’ve got a lot of people looking to establish chemistry out on the floor,” said Wright, “and with that chemistry, it’s important for everyone to feel like they’re part of what’s going on.”
Thirteen Panthers saw the floor over the Shiprock event, with each player ready to step into a role to help the Panthers compete on each possession.
Junior guard Savannah Haselroth possesses the most court time for the Panther returners, having played a prominent role ever since her first games as a freshman. Her 10 points in the victory over the Raiders led the way for the M-CHS offense, a day after she posted a career-high 16 against Pine Hill.
Meanwhile, classmate Markylla Jones also posted a pair of double-digit scoring performances over the weekend, including 14 against Pine Hill, as the junior steps up into a leadership role.
“Markylla’s been a lot more vocal,” said Wright of his junior captain. “She’s seeing the floor well and has really been working on building the other players up, even when we make mistakes.”
Sophomore Taylor Whited emerged as the third-leading scorer from the three opening contests, averaging seven points per game over the span. A number of other sources, including the program’s lone senior Amiyah Ogo, look to provide supplementary scoring, while providing a hallmark of Wright’s program development – strong, tenacious defense.
“We’re doing a lot of pass cutting, fast breaks and high pressure,” added Wright. “We’re a small team, so we know we’re going to want to take advantage of our speed.”
After a 64-32 loss to Monument Valley, Utah, to open the season, Wright’s team showed the capacity to bounce back, a quality that Wright knows is key to long-term success.
“We want to emphasize how this is a game, and it should be fun,” said the Panthers head coach, “so we’ve made that a cornerstone of the way we create a positive environment for the girls, and let that carry over to the way we play the game.”
Juniors India Wright and Kayce Tom join a bevy of Panthers that can shoot from the perimeter, but the ability to balance the inside and outside game for M-CHS will prove to be important in a tough Intermountain League schedule ahead.
A trip to Kirtland Central on Tuesday, Dec. 13, looms on the schedule, before a trip to Gunnison wraps up the 2022 portion of the schedule on Dec. 16-17. When the Panthers return from the break, league play gets underway, with Bayfield and Alamosa waiting on the docket for contests on Jan. 13-14.
The Panthers finished just outside of the state tournament field of 32 a year ago, finishing 38th in the RPI rankings, and the hope is to keep striving to break into that next level. M-CHS look for their first playoff appearance since 2010, when the Panthers qualified in the 4A tournament field.
“Our future is really bright,” said Wright, “and we’re looking to pick up right where we left off last year.”
