After being behind by 14 points with four minutes left in the final quarter, the Mingus Union girls basketball team shot ahead to a victory, winning 50-44 during its first home game of the season against Lee Williams.
Before making the comeback, the girls had been down since the first quarter.
“I think we all realized we did not want to lose to Lee Williams,” sophomore Kenna Cook said after the game.
Following the game, the Marauders were tied with the Flagstaff Eagles and the Prescott Badgers each with a record of 2-0 in normal season games for the Grand Canyon Region. Lee Williams dropped to fifth place with a record of 1-2.
The Marauders’ game against the Flagstaff Eagles in Flagstaff was canceled on Thursday, Jan. 8, due to snow and road conditions. The team will play the Eagles again on its home turf on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m.
The Marauders played the Mohave Thunderbirds on Friday, Jan. 9, and the Thunderbird Titans on Tuesday, Jan. 13, both after press time.
Before the game games after time, the Marauders went 10-3, losing once to the North Mustangs in its Nov. 25 invitational and twice in its Dec. 13 invitational to the Gilbert Christian Knights and the Payson Longhorns.
The team is scheduled to have 26 games this year. With just over half its games completed, it’s still on track to make it.
Junior Tatum Baker said her new year’s resolution is to have a 20-win season.
“We work really well together,” Baker said. “Honestly, I think we know when we need to pull it together and [have] the intention.”
After the game finished, Head Coach Troy Hoke talked to most of the athletes individually.
He said everyone wants to be celebrated, and thinks it’s largely because of the instant-success feeling that comes from social media.
“I think sometimes it creates failure over success,” he said. “But we got to learn that through failure, we do succeed.”
Cook scored the final 3-pointer of the game, solidifying the Marauders’ victory.
“One thing I told her before the game was, ‘I’m not going to have you stop shooting the ball, so don’t act like the one shot you missed [means] it’s over. We’re going to keep playing,’” he said.
“It came in big. That was the only three [pointer] for the game, and I don’t think anybody’s going to remember the misses.”
He said one of his starters had to sit out this game for an injury, and another received one during Tuesday’s game.
“The two girls that are three-year starters, Savannah [Tobias] and Brianka [Villalobos],” Toke said. “They’ve both been battling injuries.”
The team is mostly juniors and sophomores, and has two seniors.
Toke said he brought up a couple players from Junior Varsity to play for Tuesday’s game.
“I think one of them hit a big bucket tonight, [sophomore] Shaylee Graham,” Hoke said. “… She’s a little fiery spark plug for us.”
He said his new year’s resolution for the team is to keep up the work they’ve been doing.
After a few away games, the Marauders have four home games in a row, including its Thunderbird Titans game on Tuesday. On Thursday, Jan. 15, the girls will play against the Bradshaw Mountain Bears, against the Prescott Badgers on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and against the Coconino Panthers on Thursday, Jan. 22. All games start at 7 p.m.
