Eldorado earns tough victory
Varoz leads West Mesa past Oñate and into quarterfinals
Host Eldorado pulled away in a tough, physical game Friday night as the seventh-seeded Eagles beat No. 10 Mayfield 60-52 in a first-round game in the Class 6A girls state basketball tournament.
Junior Colexi Brazier scored 17 points to lead Eldorado into Tuesday’s quarterfinals against No. 2 Hobbs at 8:15 p.m.
The game came down to the free-throw line, where Eldorado (21-5) was 22-for34, including 15-for-22 in the final eight minutes. Mayfield (17-11) was 20-for32 overall but just 6-for-11 in the fourth.
“We weren’t surprised by that, we saw that on film how physical they are,” Eagles coach Rich Harbin said. “All week long we beat the kids up. We warned them we had to win the 50-50 balls.
“In the first half, honestly, they outplayed us. I told them in the locker room, it’s not going to change. We’ve got to be a lot more aggressive and I think we were.”
The game was tied at 38 entering the fourth. The Trojans got back-to-back baskets from posts Alyssa Sanchez and Kayla Avalos. The two teams traded free throws after that, but it was still a four-point Mayfield lead at 46-42 and Eldorado had not made a field goal in the quarter.
That changed when senior Vivian Chavez, the District 2-6A player of the year, made a layup and senior Catessa Duran nailed a 3-pointer to put the Eagles up 47-46. The Trojans tied it again when Sanchez made one of two free throws, but after that it was all Eldorado.
The Eagles made four of their next six free throws, while the Trojans missed a 3 and had one of their six fourth-quarter turnovers at the most inopportune time.
Mayfield kept chipping away only to see three players foul out, including the team’s leading scorer, Alize Ruiz (17 points).
“We told the kids, too, expect this game to be
ugly,” Harbin said. “Expect it to be a wrestling match.” — Chris Jackson No. 3 WEST MESA 59,
No. 14 OÑATE 50: This time around, the Mustangs will head into the state quarterfinals at full strength.
Junior guard Esperanza Varoz scored a game-high 23 points — including six of her team’s last nine during a surprisingly tense fourth quarter — to propel West Mesa past the visiting Knights in the first round.
West Mesa advances to play sixth-seeded Rio Rancho on Tuesday at the Santa Ana Star Center at 9:45 a.m. One year ago, the Mustangs, also seeded third, bowed out to No. 6 Eldorado in the quarterfinals. Varoz, who suffered a knee injury late in the regular season, missed that game.
“It means the world to me. I’ve wanted this since I was a little kid,” Varoz said. “This has been my dream.”
The Mustangs appeared poised to blow the game open after beginning the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 37-21 lead. West Mesa (24-2) was forcing turnovers in bunches, and the youthful Knights (12-16) were on the verge of wilting. Instead, freshmen guards Angel Jones (18 points) and Sydney Hobbs, who scored eight of her 12 in the final stanza, led a spirited rally for Oñate.
“Their freshmen were great. (Jones) and (Hobbs) were just awesome athletes,” West Mesa coach Manny Otero said. “We needed to do a much better job of containing them, but they were really good players.”
Oñate cut the deficit to 12 after three quarters, and got as close as 50-47 with 3 minutes remaining. But the Mustangs converted seven of nine free throws down the stretch, and Varoz drew the fifth foul on Jones on a coast-to-coast drive to help seal the victory. The Mustangs held a big advantage at the line, making 25-of-31 shots compared with 10-of13 for Onate.
“They’re definitely a great team,” Varoz said. “They played with a lot of hustle, a lot of heart. They came to play tonight, but we just wanted it a little bit more.” — Tristen Critchfield No. 6 RIO RANCHO 47,
No. 11 LA CUEVA 31: At Rio Rancho, Laura Gutierrez scored 10 first-half points and Kamirah Decker scored 10 of her game-high 14 in the second half as the Rams beat the Bears for the second time this season, sending Rio Rancho into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009.
Lexi Peterson added 10 rebounds as Rio Rancho never trailed in the game, winning all four quarters and withstanding a tenacious Bears defense in the fourth quarter.
“You get to this point in the year, it’s a dogfight, you know,” RRHS coach Scott Peterson said. A former assistant at LCHS, he’d also had an older daughter, Kayla, play for the Bears before he got the head coaching job in Rio Rancho in 2015. “How fun is that? Nine years since (Rio Rancho’s) been to the quarterfinals.”
The Rams (22-7) held the Bears (15-12) to single digits in each of the first three quarters and built a doubledigit lead barely a minute into the second half.
Gutierrez sank three 3-pointers and a free throw in the first half; Decker, with four first-half points, was unstoppable in the second half, hauling in rebounds at both ends and converting passes from teammates into layups.
Brooke Nelson and Deja Sandoval led the Bears with 10 points apiece. — Gary Herron No. 8 PIEDRA VISTA 51, No. 9 HIGHLAND 47: In Farmington, the Panthers became just the third team to beat the Hornets this year, as Piedra Vista moved into Tuesday’s quarterfinals opposite No. 1 Cibola at 4:45 p.m.
Highland (20-7) had a rough night trying to attack in the paint against Piedra Vista (23-6). Whenever the Hornets tried getting to the rim, the Panthers often stripped or swiped the ball away and took off heading the other way.
“They contest everything. They get in passing lanes, they make sure that you earn every point that you get,” Highland coach Lonnie Neal said.
Highland’s Esperanza Crespin and Cailee Crawford combined for 33 points in the loss, while Piedra Vista’s Alexis Long had 13 points and six steals.
The Hornets, despite the loss, enjoyed their best season in a dozen years.
“That’s something we can always build on. We’re really trying to build on it and change the culture of how we look at playing the game,” Neal said.
— Farmington Daily Times
No. 1 CIBOLA 59, No. 16
CLEVELAND 48: At Cibola, believe it or not, the Cougars had to come from behind to advance.
The District 1-6A rival Storm (9-19) led Cibola 30-25 at halftime.
“I didn’t think we played horrible, I just thought Susan (Kubala, Cleveland’s coach) did a great job of getting her team ready,” Cibola coach Lori Mabrey said. “When you play a district opponent multiple times, they have more chances to be better prepared for you.”
Cibola (24-2) mixed up defenses on Cleveland in the first half.
“Maybe I overthought things,” Mabrey said. “In the second half, we just went back to our true halfcourt, man-to-man defense, and our kids had to grind it out.”
Paige Pyke was crucial to Cibola in the second half; one of the Cougars’ most under-the-radar players hit all six of her free throws. No. 4 CARLSBAD 37, No.
13 VOLCANO VISTA 36: At Carlsbad, the Hawks (13-14) were at the free throw line, up one with 1.4 seconds left. And they got beat. Jaden Chischillie of Volcano Vista made a free throw to put her team up 36-35. She missed the second, but went after the rebound and fouled Cavegirls guard Carsyn Boswell.
At the other end, Carlsbad’s junior guard buried two free throws with 0.4 seconds to go, and Carlsbad (25-5) escaped.
Volcano Vista trailed 29-17 starting the fourth quarter, but used a fullcourt press to get back into the game and eventually tie Carlsbad in the final minute.
ALSO: The Cavegirls will face No. 5 Las Cruces next after the Lady Bulldawgs cruised past No. 12 Clovis 66-41. … No. 2 seed Hobbs blitzed 15th-seeded Atrisco Heritage 86-51.