Basketball Recap: Kelly James' Big Game Can't Quite Lead Window Rock over Chinle

Window Rock suffered their closest loss since November 30, 2024 on Saturday. They fell just short of the Chinle Wildcats by a score of 46-43. While losing is never fun, the Fighting Scouts can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Arizona basketball rankings (they are ranked 84th, while the Wildcats are ranked third).

Window Rock's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kelly James, who dropped a double-double on 12 points and 14 rebounds. The dominant performance gave James a new career-high in rebounds. Another player making a difference was Davae Willie, who went 5 of 12 en route to 14 points.

Window Rock is on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 7-10. As for Chinle, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 14-1.

Coincidentally, both will both be playing Page the next time they take the court. Chinle will head out to face Page at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, while Window Rock will head out to face them at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.