Lady Lobos Pick Up Victories Over Round Valley, Payson

By Greg Perkins
   Snowflake’s Lady Lobos won both of their East Region games last week, extending their current win streak to four, and they have won seven of their past eight games dating back to the Winslow tournament held before Christmas.
   Hosting Round Valley last Tuesday, they survived a sluggish start then poured in 17 second quarter points to lead by a dozen at the halftime break.
   Double-digit scoring in both the third and fourth periods led to a 48-30 win.
   “Both teams started slow, but after we adjusted to the physical play, we did fine. We do need to improve our free throw shooting, but overall, it was a good win for us,” said Coach Don Godfrey.
   Brittany Titus led the way with 14 points. Reagon Godfrey also scored in double figures with 12. Alex Merrill added 8, Jessica Johnson and Taylor Brubaker, 5 each, Natalie Elkins, 3, and Lisha Titus, 1.
   Round Valley went seven for 18 at the free throw line, and the Lady Lobos made 20 of their 33 attempts.
RV             5    7    9    9   30
Snowflk     7 17 11 13   48
   Friday night the Lady Lobos played host to an overmatched Payson team. Snowflake came ready to play, especially on the defensive end of the floor, holding the Lady Longhorns scoreless in the first period while building a 24-point lead, effectively putting the game out of reach early. With several bench players playing in the second period, Snowflake finally gave up eight points to the visitors, but still held a commanding lead. Holding a team scoreless in one quarter is a big achievement, doing it twice in a game is amazing, but that’s what happened in the third as the Lady Lobos again pitched the shutout. Snowflake went on to win the game 57-17.
   “We pressed them full court early on, then pulled that off. We also worked a little on a half-court trap, but pulled that off early as well. Our younger girls who played did a good job and we won the game easily,” added Coach Godfrey.
   Brittany Titus again led the offense with 15. Brubaker added 11, Merrill, Elkins and Tara Nezzie, 6 each, and Godfrey, Johnson and Lisha Titus, 4 each.
Payson        0   8    0    9   17
Snowflk    24   5 18 10   57
   With the two wins the Lady Lobos improved to 14-5 on the season and they are 4-1 in East Region play. After playing at Show Low on Tuesday night, they will play Round Valley on Friday, Jan. 22, at Eagar, then get a home rematch with Ganado on Saturday. Next Tuesday they play against Blue Ridge in Lakeside, then will wrap up the regular season next Friday with a road trip to Payson.