EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been changed to reflect that Chinle has not in fact won a state championship. For full Copper Division results in girls basketball, click here. 

CHINLE — With two state championship appearances in 2022 and 1974 without coming away with a ring, the Chinle girls basketball team is hoping their top ranking in the inaugural Copper Division will change that.

And having lost only one game this season, Chinle (27-1, 11-0 3A North) may turn those hopes into reality rather quickly.

Winners of 17 straight and scheduled to open the Copper Division tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Wildcats are set to host No. 16 St. Johns and coach Francine McCurtain believes her club will lean on the seniors to win it all.

“I believe having five senior starters, who are veterans, is one of our biggest strengths. They know each other like the back of their own hand. They don’t blame each other for mistakes, but they encourage to do better each time they set their feet on the court,” McCurtain said.

Those seniors include Jayden Lynch, Noelle Walker, Alyssa Williams, Qoah Yazzie and Dizhoon White, who leads the team in scoring (15 ppg) and rebounding (5.5) per game.

“[She] is our other senior captain who is our post player. She has grown to be quite unstoppable on the inside,” McCurtain said. “She is quite the leader by scoring in the paint and also runs the floor as a big.”

Yazzie, who is second in scoring at 11.6 points per game, is the other team captain.

“She is our all-around player who can bring up the ball and then also post up. She is the most vocal leader we have and is a very unselfish player who gets her teammates involved,” McCurtain said, adding that they’ll navigate the Copper Division with the same approach they do everything else, “one day at a time with 100% effort.”

McCurtain spoke about the Copper Division, which takes the top 16 teams among the 3A, 2A and 1A conference and combines them into an open playoff bracket. Teams that lose in the first two rounds of the Copper Division are returned to their respective conference state brackets.

The coach said she wasn’t sure how it would all shake out and that it “brought up concerns” within the team and parents at first, but by midseason, they figured things out.

“In my own thoughts, I do wish we could play out our own 3A conference first, then do the Copper tournament afterward,” McCurtain said. “I say this because our kids grew up dreaming of playing for the 3A state title, and now there are two brackets, but we will do our best!”

Either way, McCurtain said she is “proud” of her student athletes.

“[They have] worked so hard,” McCurtain said, adding later, “We have had a lot of fun and now as we are in the postseason, the season has flown by. I wish [all teams] the best, and let’s go!”

Tipoff against St. Johns is set for 7 p.m.

Other games to watch in the Copper Division on Feb. 11 include:

No. 9 Ganado at No. 8 Tuba City, 7 p.m.

No. 12 Payson at No. 5 Page, 7 p.m.

No. 13 Valley Christian at No. 4 Miami, 7 p.m.

No. 14 Monument Valley at No. 3 Snowflake, 7 p.m.

No. 11 Joseph City at No. 6 Show Low, 7 p.m.

No. 10 Pusch Ridge at No. 7 San Carlos, 7 p.m.

No. 15 Fountain Hills at No. 2 Phoenix Country Day, 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on X at @AzPreps365Brian or on Facebook at @Five2MediaWorks. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.