The Lady Sand Devils maintained their 4th place ranking after a 51 to 33 victory over Chinle last Thursday night, followed by a 49 to 36 win over Tuba City Friday night. 

The boys team fell to 5th place after losing to Chinle 67 to 70 on Wednesday, Jan. 17. The boys bounced back Friday with a 72 to 44 win against Tuba City.

The Lady Sand Devils are on an eight-game win streak with recent wins over Tuba City, Chinle, Alchesay, Bourgade Catholic, Monument Valley and Atwater. The team’s season record is 14-4 overall and 6-2 in their section.

Thursday night’s loss against Chinle was the boy’s first loss since Dec. 16, which came from Holbrook. The boys are 13-6, overall and 7-1 in their section. 

Boys basketball head coach Justin Smith said this year’s team – which has many of the same players as last year – is steps ahead of where it was this time last year. But he still sees several areas where the team needs to improve before the postseason. 

“I love the effort they’re giving me, but there are still a few little lapses I’m still seeing,” he said. “Some games we play amazing basketball, such as Alchesay, Bourgade and the first time we played Chinle. And other times we make silly mistakes. We got to quit being Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”