Monument Valley takes drum from Whitehorse in exciting night

It was a highly-anticipated doubleheader Battle of the Drum event when the Monument Valley girls and boys basketball teams welcomed the rival Whitehorse Raiders to town on Friday, January 17.

The fans got their money’s worth. In the two varsity games combined, just five points decided victory.

The boys began the night with a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle.

Whitehorse led 16-13 after one and 28-25 at the half. The Cougars rallied to tie 40-40 at the end of three and the packed house enjoyed an exciting final period that saw the visitors outscore the hosts by three for a 57-54 final.

The victorious Raiders were led by Weston Manygoats, who scored 17 points in the contest. Lanedon Bob got 14 and both players hit four three-pointers on the night.

So, for the time being, Whitehorse hung onto that drum they won back in October on the Monument Valley football field. But the Raiders’ possession of the rivalry trophy was on borrowed time.

When the girls met just minutes later, it was a top-five showdown between the #1 Lady Raiders and #4 Lady Cougars.

The teams combined for 146 points in a barn burner that culminated in a 74-72 upset win for Monument Valley.

Lady Cougar senior Jamika Nelson scored an incredible 41 points in the win. She hit four threes and scored 34 points on field goals in the game.

Zhoni and Daan Filfred led the way for Whitehorse with an impressive 27 and 26 points respectively and Rueshunda Jim added 12.

After three months in Montezuma Creek, the Drum will now reside in Monument Valley, at least for another week.

The teams will meet again in Montezuma Creek next Friday, January 31 to decide where it will reside over the summer.

The Monument Valley girls improved to 12-4 after wins over Mancos, CO, Red Mesa, AZ, and Whitehorse last week.

They moved up to third in the newest 1A rankings and are riding a nine-game winning streak headed into this week.

The Monument Valley boys are now 5-8 and are 13th in the latest UHSAA RPI.

Both MVHS teams host Green River and Pinnacle in Region 19 matchups this Friday and Saturday, January 24-25.

Though they lost to Monument Valley, the Whitehorse girls spanked Monticello last week 70-38 and moved up to #2 in the RPI standings with a 12-3 record.

The Raider boys are 7-9 and sit in 12th in their 1A standings.

The WHS teams only have one game this week, at home against Pinnacle on Friday, January 24.