Last season’s silence in the high school basketball arenas of most Arizona reservations was deafening.

So to were the roars from Saturday’s fans of Chinle and Alchesay during the 3A Conference final at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

COVID forced Chinle and Alchesay to sit out last season. Reservation teams and their fans eat, sleep and dream basketball.

Being without it was so tough that Alchesay girl’s basketball coach Rick Sanchez had to say it three times.

“Oh, it was tough,” he said. “It was tough. It was tough. I didn’t even come to the state playoffs (last year) because it would have hurt.”

But on Saturday not even Sanchez’s facemask could completely cover his ear-to-ear smile after what his team accomplished.

After a lost basketball season, Alchesay capped its return to the court with a crown after defeating Chinle 66-64 in overtime. It was also a triumphant return for a program makings its first championship appearance, Chinle, despite the loss.

Chinle reached its first basketball final Saturday. Jose Garcia/azpreps365

“We were a little bit nervous at the start, but once they calmed down they showed they can play ball and so did Chinle,” Sanchez said. “Wow. What a game. Coach (Francine) McCurtain has quite a team.”

What added to Saturday’s pageantry between the North Region rivals was two of the nation’s strongest high school sports fan bases.

The 3A championship tipped off after 4 p.m., but some of Chinle and Alchesay’s fans started lining up before the doors opened at 11 a.m. When the clock struck 11:01 some eager fans began knocking on the unlocked doors.

Once open, the fans rushed to the front row seats to lay out blankets and save a spot for their fellows fans. When the throng of fans of Chinle and Alchesay did stream in to fill most of the sitting sections behind the teams’ benches and media row, the Madhouse on McDowell, which opened in 1965 and is the former home of the Phoenix Suns, reawakened.

More than 18,000 fans attended the basketball 2A and 3A semifinals and finals that were played at the Coliseum on Friday and Saturday. Most of them were there to see the Cinderallas, Alchesay and Chinle.

Alchesay and Chinle's fans showed their support throughout Saturday's 3A championship game at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Jose Garcia/azpreps365

Chinle (20-14) finished 8-10 against power ranked teams during the regular season and in fifth place in its region with a 5-5 record. Alchesay (26-9) also was .500 in the North Region.

Saturday’s game marked the fourth time the 3A finalists played each other in the past 40 days.

Chinle lost two of the previous three meetings but didn’t seem like it after opening the game with a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.

“We were a little bit nervous,” Sanchez said. “The hype of all the people. We take the girls’ phones away at night, but they got them and there were a million things on social media. There were (photos of) cars of people coming to the game and pictures of people waiting to get in the game. They were a little bit nervous, but once they calmed down they showed they can play ball and so could Chinle.”

What Alchesay also started doing was pressing and double teaming, which led to steals (15 in the game) and baskets.

As Alchesay rallied, its legion of fans kept raising the decibel level. It was off the charts by the time Alchesay ran into its halftime locker room with a 28-27 lead.

The momentum carried into the second half, as Alchesay went up by seven twice, but Chinle battled back each time. In the final seconds of regulation, Alchesay had a look at the basket but the shot didn’t hit iron. 58-58. Overtime.

And why not. Each team deserved to get as much out of this season as possible after sitting out last year.

In OT, Jaylyn Nashio, Brandy Edwards and Shanae Zahgotah scored Alchesay’s eight points. For Chinle, Temrya Bia, Linsdey Yazzie and Aisha Ashley tallied their team’s first six points.

Trailing 66-64, Chinle did a great job of setting up a final second shot, an open three from the left side. But the ball bounced off the right side of rim.

“This is unbelievable,” said Nashio about winning the title. “A lot of teams fight hard to be here, but only some make it. This is amazing.”

Nashio (13 points), Edwards (22 points) and Jazlyn Nosie (16 points) led the champ in scoring.

Chinle’s Ashley (13 points, 11 rebounds), Lashante Benalley (14 points) and Ashlyn Lynch (12 points) also scored in double figures. After the game, each team received a well-deserved ovation.

Welcome back Rez Ball.

 

Alchesay's return to the basketball court this season ended with a championship. Jose Garcia/azpreps365