Valley Pirates Championship Celebration

SANDERS, Ariz. — The Valley of the Pirates was flooded with blue and gold spirit March 11 as local fans lined the highway to congratulate the Arizona 2A Girls State Basketball Champions.

The team was carried through town in a parade held in their honor. Arizona Department of Transportation, Apache County Sheriff’s Department, Puerco Valley Fire District, Sanders Unified School District, and the Navajo-Hopi Honor Riders led the procession as community members cheered the Lady Pirates.

The parade ended at Valley High School with a parent-organized community dinner. Back-to-back gold trophies were prominently displayed for all too see.

Valley...

Navajo president, vice-president visit Shiprock

SHIPROCK – President Russell Begaye told the Shiprock Lady Chieftains that their 4A State Championship contributes to the momentum that is moving the Navajo Nation forward toward bringing about positive change.

“The pride out here is phenomenal. It translates from high school sports and unto areas like community and business development,” Begaye said. “We feel the momentum in the spirit of wanting to see change and make things happen.”

Begaye and Vice President Jonathan Nez joined Navajo Honor Riders in escorting the Shiprock’s Championship Lady Chieftain basketball team to a tailgate rally held at the Shiprock Youth Complex...

Win is first in THS team sport history

Junior point guard Kalian Mitchell scored a team high 20 points and senior teammate Cheyenne Begay poured in 18 as the Tohatchi Lady Cougars beat Eunice 57-50 in the championship game of the New Mexico Class 3A girls basketball division March 10 at WisePies Arena – also known as the Pit at the University of Albuquerque.

Tohatchi came into the game ranked No. 3 in 3A across the state and Eunice was the tournament’s top seed at No. 1.

“It was a very tough game. We hung in there,” Tohatchi head coach Tanisha Bitsoi said after the game. “This is a very exciting moment for Tohatchi High School. The girls worked hard all year long and...

The red-hot and No. 3 ranked Tohatchi Lady Cougars broke open a close game in the third quarter and beat the Dexter Lady Demons 67-48 in a first round 3A state playoff game March 3 at Tohatchi High School.

The Lady Cougars advanced to play Tucumcari (21-6, 6-2) March 7 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. The Lady Cougars beat Tucumcari 84-47. Tohatchi takes on No. 2 Texico (21-7, 6-1) on March 9 at Santa Ana, a team in which they’ve never played. The Lady Wolverines beat No. 12 Loving 54-39 to earn the right to face Tohatchi.

The Lady Cougars pounced the Lady Wolverines by a score of 69-44 Thursday, and headed to the finals March 10 to face Eunice Lady Bobcats at Wise...