Give Grand Canyon University women’s basketball an assist for helping Monument Valley win Wednesday. 

The Mustangs lost a 14-2 first quarter lead and trailed 36-26 in the third quarter but regained control in the fourth quarter to defeat the Ganado girls 45-38. On Wednesday, GCU opened its Global Credit Union Arena’s doors to the basketball programs of Monument Valley and Ganado. 

Before its 2:30 p.m. game, the Mustangs watched GCU prepare for its home match-up against UNLV. The Monument Valley-Ganado and GCU games were part of a unique triple header GCU hosted. 

The lessons Monument Valley's girls learned from GCU coach Winston Gandy were repeated during their game.  

"The things that (Gandy) was teaching, we talked about it at halftime,” Monument Valley coach Sophie Patterson said. "The gems that he shared, we utilized and applied it.” 

Tehya Yazzie (No. 4) and her Monument Valley Mustangs travelled to Grand Canyon University to player their first region game of the year. (Jose Garcia photo/AZPreps365)Patterson’s team and Ganado are young this year, but Monument Valley showed some maturity during the waning minutes, outscoring Ganado 17-2 in the fourth quarter.      

“During the timeouts, our coach talked about teamwork, blocking out, feeding the post, trusting one another, and passing the ball around,” Monument Valley senior forward Tehya Yazzie said. "I think that’s what got us to get the win tonight.”

Monument Valley’s defense also picked up, accounting for 11 of its 16 steals in the second half. 

The Mustangs scored 16 of their 26 points off turnovers in the second half as well. Their defensive efforts offset a 16-point outing from Ganado’s Jasah McIntosh, who went 6 of 11 from the field.

Despite trailing by 12 early in the game, Ganado’s defense helped turn the tide. It didn’t allow Monument Valley to convert a field goal in the second quarter until 1:41 was left to take a 25-21 lead into halftime.

“The biggest thing that allowed us to come back is our determination,” said McIntosh as she held her lucky charm, a plush Baby Yoda doll. "We went out there and fought and went into the locker room saying we need to trust each other.” 

Monument Valley improved to 6-7 overall, 1-0 in region, and Ganado dropped to 3-6, 0-1 after their first North Region game of the year.

Monument Valley boys also victorious

The Monument Valley boys used Mekhi Parrish’s game-high 18 points and five steals to help defeat Ganado 44-36. 

Jayden Tsosie chipped in 13 points for Monument Valley (4-3, 1-0). For Ganado (3-6, 0-1), Kohl Curley, Eayden Murphy and Quincy Pehstoney each scored eight points.