The Montezuma-Cortez Panthers kicked off their season on the road on Thursday and hit a couple of potholes. They fell to Monument Valley 48-42. Montezuma-Cortez lost against Monument Valley in their previous head to head back in December of 2022, too, but the margin this time around was much closer than the 64-32 score last time.
Montezuma-Cortez's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Taylor Whited, who scored 12 points. Another player making a difference was Savannah Haselroth, who scored 11 points along with 9 rebounds and 3 steals.
Monument Valley got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Shimequa Hudson out in front who scored 9 points. Mariah Begaye was another key contributor, scoring 8 points.
Montezuma-Cortez's loss dropped their record down to 0-1. As for Monument Valley, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.
Montezuma-Cortez will square off against Varsity Opponent at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. As for Monument Valley, they will head out on the road to face off against Shiprock at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in their respective states (Shiprock is ranked 20th in New Mexico, while Monument Valley is ranked 32nd in Utah).
