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Shirley shoots Gallup past Miyamura, 64-62

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Game goes down to final seconds

Superstar senior guard Sarah Ann Shirley shot Gallup to a 64-62 nail-biter of a victory over Miyamura High Feb. 20 in a first-round district 1-5A girls basketball game played at Gallup High School. Shirley scored on a three-point play with 37 seconds left in regulation to seal the win for Gallup.

As a result of the win, Gallup (13-13, 5-5), the No. 3 seed in the 5A tournament, takes on Bloomfield (17-8, 6-4) in the 5A second round game at Bloomfield. Bloomfield received a bye due to the fact of the better 5A record. The Lady Bengals beat the Lady Bobcats twice this season with a 70-66 win Feb. 5 at Gallup and a 76-74 win Feb. 10 in Bloomfield.

“We had some bad breaks. I wouldn’t call them breakdowns, but just some bad breaks, especially toward the end of the game,” Miyamura head coach Henry Gettler said. “The game came down to defense and opportunities on offense.”

The game was close through the better part of the first two quarters – and then the Lady Patriots found their offensive and defensive grooves behind junior guard Hannah Murphy and sharp-shooting senior Destiny Lee.

Murphy fouled out late in the fourth quarter, but not until she torched the Lady Bengals for 20 points from practically everywhere on the floor. Gallup simply had no answer for Murphy, who produced every time when Gettler called her number – which was often.

Shirley, a threat with or without the ball, was fantastic throughout the entire game. Gallup head coach Wilbert Nez sat Shirley for a few minutes in the third quarter and that, to an extent, allowed the Lady Patriots to shoot and rebound themselves in a back-and-forth lead-changing of a game.

Gallup started the game ahead and never trailed, winning the battle of the first quarter 13-9. Miyamura’s scoring trio of Murphy, senior Phrankkie Pawlowski and Lee couldn’t really find their rhythm early on, but found it a few minutes into the second quarter when Tanya Tolino tied the score at 17-17 on a short jumper from the left side of the court. From that point on, it was a ball game.

Gettler and Nez substituted with excellence and Gettler threw in some offensive plays that showcased Murphy and allowed the Lady Patriots to take big leads in the third quarter. But the Lady Patriots still had to contain Shirley.

Shirley hit five consecutive free throws down the stretch for Gallup. That proved productive as Murphy picked up a fifth foul after fouling Shirley on one of the pair of free throws. Murphy connected on four 3-pointers in the second half and got valuable loose balls for the Lady Patriots.

“We came ready,” Nez said. “And we’re ready for Bloomfield again.”

The packed Gallup High School gymnasium had a lot of Bengal fans who wished the Lady Bengals well Wednesday against Bloomfield.

“I hope they win. They beat that team before so it should be a good game,” Jackie Yazzie, a 2000 graduate of Gallup High, said. “If they beat Bloomfield again, then they’re going to state.”

Murphy led Miyamura with 20 points. Shirley recorded a game high 28 points for Gallup and senior forward Kalisha Kinsel scored 17 for the Lady Bengals.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent

Box Score

Gallup 64, Miyamura 62

Gallup (13-13, 5-5)

Sara Ann Shirley 28, Kaisha Kinsel17, Leona Smith 5, Amanda Mitchel 4, McKleigh Begaye 4, Brittany Charley 4, Kamryn Yazzie 3.

Miyamura (9-18, 3-7)

Hannah Murphy 20, Destiny Lee 11, Lauryn Thomas 10, Sarah Gilmore 9, Tanya Tolino 7, Phrankkie Pawlowski 5.

Gallup 13, 12, 15, 23 – 64

Miyamura 9, 15, 19, 15 – 62

Fouled Out: Murphy (Miyamura). Total Fouls: Miyamura 18. Gallup 16. Total Free Throws: Gallup 21-28. Miyamura 11-16.