Familiar foes set to battle in 1st round

Rams, Hawks tied for 1-6A crown

Some observations on the opening weekend of the girls state basketball tournament:

Class 6A

In theory, the 8-9 matchup should be the closest of any first-rounder. In this case, no two teams meeting today in the 6A bracket are more familiar with each other than No. 8 Rio Rancho and No. 9 Volcano Vista, the defending state champion.

The Rams and Hawks tied for the District 1-6A regular-season title, and Rio Rancho won two of the first three meetings this season.

West Mesa’s third-seeded girls, who have qualified for state for the second straight season, can’t host because of their water-damaged gym. The Mustangs, who have won 22 straight, face Oñate tonight at Rio Grande.

And West Mesa begins the postseason minus sophomore guard Esperanza Varoz, who has been ruled out of the first round as she continues to recover from a knee injury suffered several weeks ago against Highland.

One of the truly fascinating first-rounders occurs at Eldorado tonight, where No. 11 seed Mayfield faces the sixth-seeded Eagles. The Trojans have a Division I signee in 6-foot senior wing/guard Jayce Gorzeman, who signed last November with the University of Portland and is averaging almost 21 points and seven rebounds.

Eldorado and first-year head coach Matt Dixson have a stellar scorer in senior guard Sydney Candelaria. The Eagles have had a different head coach for state in each of the past three seasons.

While junior guard Amaya Brown has been cleared to play, it remains doubtful she will appear in 10th-seeded Cibola’s game at No. 7 Sandia tonight. These teams did not meet in the regular season.

Sandia’s 5-10 senior, Cara Liggins, averaged 17 points and nine rebounds this season for the dangerous Matadors, who have won 23 games.

District 2 champion La Cueva faces a potential dangerous floater in No. 12 Centennial, which was extremely competitive through most of its rugged District 3-6A schedule.

Speaking of 3-6A, the top two overall seeds, Hobbs and Carlsbad, open at home against Santa Fe and Atrisco Heritage Academy, respectively.

Las Cruces’ girls, seeded fourth, are home to No. 13 Highland, which features one of the biggest front lines in this field or any other. The Lady Bulldawgs beat the Hornets 55-43 early in the regular season. Highland is at state for the first time in 16 years.

First-round winners advance to the Santa Ana Star Center for Tuesday’s quarterfinals and Thursday’s semifinals.

Class 5A

Here’s a guarantee: If we get a guarantee from Los Lunas coach Marty Zeller on another state championship for his Tigers, it won’t be because his team is the favorite.

Still, Los Lunas figures to be in the mix. The Tigers are seeded No. 2 behind Roswell. Los Lunas already is 3-0 this season against first-round opponent Grants, winning by an average of 28 points.

No. 4 Albuquerque Academy, led by standout senior forward/ post Sophie Long (18.3 ppg, 7 rpg), has been one of the pleasant stories of the season. The Chargers open at home against No. 13 Farmington.

Sixth-seeded St. Pius faces No. 11 Gallup, which seems sure to pack the Sartans’ tiny gym as they try to re-create some of the energy and atmosphere the Bengals always enjoy at home.

Del Norte, the 10 seed, visits Kirtland Central. Will the Knights’ fairly tough nondistrict schedule help them advance to the Pit next week?

Class 4A

The Terry Heisey farewell tour begins in earnest for No. 1 seed Hope Christian tonight. The Huskies’ soon-to-be retired coach (after 25 seasons) is hoping to lead them to a third consecutive blue trophy in 4A. They open with Taos.

Awaiting in the quarterfinals could be Sandia Prep, which is the 8 seed and home to No. 9 Wingate today. Sundevils senior guard Madie Trainor is averaging 29.6 points a game and has surpassed 40 points four times. At 1,711 points, she needs two more to break Sandia Prep’s career record.

Joe Bailey’s Moriarty Pintos sail into the playoffs seeded fifth and face Hatch Valley.