Basketball Recap: Alayna Begaye's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Valley over Pinon

Valley was the 45-34 winner over Pinon when they last played one another back in December of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Valley Pirates fell just short of the Pinon Eagles by a score of 66-63 on Saturday. While the Pirates didn't get the win, they did start the game off strong, beating the Eagles 24-19 in the first quarter.

Alayna Begaye

Three Point Percentage (Career)

02/01/25 @ Pinon	67%
01/09/25 vs Joseph City	60%
01/25/25 vs Hopi	50%
12/13/24 vs St. Johns	50%
12/27/24 vs Gilbert Classical Academy	43%

Valley's loss came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Alayna Begaye, who went 6 for 10 en route to 17 points and four steals. The dominant performance also gave Begaye a new career-high in three-point shooting accuracy (67%). Another player making a difference was Trinity Mitchell, who posted 17 points and six rebounds.

Even though they lost, Valley smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 15 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least nine offensive boards in three consecutive games.

Leading Pinon to victory were Shanna Begaye and Avril Sage. Begaye went 9 of 12 on her way to 29 points and five steals, while Sage went 6 for 9 from beyond the arc to rack up 20 points in addition to five boards and four steals. Begaye has been hot, having posted three or more steals the last five times she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Hanka Benally, who scored six points along with six assists and five rebounds.

Valley's defeat dropped their record down to 12-11. As for Pinon, the victory made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 11-14.

Valley wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next match, a 45-37 win against Many Farms on the 3rd. As for Pinon, they have also already played their next contest, a 50-33 loss against Round Valley on the 6th.