Sartans put the defensive screws to Roswell
This was not the kind of first half that extends a season.
During the first two quarters of Roswell’s playoff game Friday night at St. Pius, the Lady Coyotes efforts were summarized this way:
In 16 minutes, they had 15 turnovers, 10 points and only nine field-goal attempts.
It was not surprising, then, that the fourth-seeded Sartans were the team who advanced to the second week of the postseason as they beat No. 13 seed Roswell 54-36 in the first round of the Class 5A girls state tournament.
St. Pius (19-8) moves ahead to the Pit on Tuesday to square off with No. 5 seed Kirtland Central in the 5A quarterfinals at 1:15 p.m.
The Sartans led Roswell (11-17) 21-10 at halftime.
“We really attacked them, I thought, in the first half,” St. Pius coach Phil Griego said. “You hold a pretty decent team to 10 points in the first half and you’re doing a good job.”
Turnovers plagued Roswell throughout the first half, putting the Lady Coyotes in a bind. They had eight giveaways in the first quarter alone as St. Pius led early 7-2.
A late 3-pointer by Maya Trujillo sent St. Pius into the half with an 11-point lead. Senior forward Taylor Reed had 10 of her team-best 14 points in that first half.
“We wanted to put a lot of pressure on them,” said Reed. “A lot of teams we’ve seen, our pressure is different because our guards are so quick. Most teams we play have a hard time dealing with that.”
Still, Roswell gained its bearings as the second half began and managed a brief charge.
It carved into the St. Pius advantage, whittling away until the deficit was only six, 25-19, three minutes into the third quarter.
But Trujillo first, and then Ari Martinez, buried 3-pointers at the other end. These were the first two baskets in a 10-0 run — which lasted 2 minutes — that left St. Pius ahead
35-19, and the Lady Coyotes never responded again.
Martinez finished with 13 points, Trujillo 11 for St. Pius.
Kaitltyn Holl of Roswell led all scorers with 17 points. — James Yodice No. 1 LOS LUNAS 71,
No. 16 DEMING 27: At Los Lunas, Hayley Torres buried a career-high seven 3-pointers and led the Tigers with 21 points as they rolled into the quarterfinals next week.
Los Lunas (26-2) made a dozen 3s. Amber Trujillo added 14 points for the Tigers, who next face No. 8 Alamogordo.
ALSO: Kirtland Central beat Farmington 54-45 on Friday as the Lady Broncos advanced to face St. Pius in the quarters. … In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 2 Bloomfield, No. 3 Gallup and No. 7 Española all won in the first round, but No. 11 seed Miyamura upset No. 6 Goddard 38-26 in Roswell. The Sundevils eliminated No. 10 Belen 49-42; the Bobcats whipped No. 15 Lovington 56-27; and the Bengals blew out No. 14 Capital 79-48.
Gallup faces city rival Miyamura on Tuesday in the quarters, while Bloomfield takes on Española Valley in the next round.
Class 4A
No. 9 WEST LAS VEGAS 59, No. 8 HOPE CHRISTIAN
48: At Hope Christian, Cameron Sandoval and Briana Marquez each scored 16 points and combined for 22 points in the first half to fuel the Dons upset.
“They were on fire early,” said Huskies coach Gary Ellis. “I thought we did an okay job guarding them. We left them open a little bit. There a few times I thought we were okay guarding them and they were hitting shots on us. It’s tough.”
Savanna Lewis had 13 and Candace Ellis added 11 for Hope (13-16).
Jenna Bustos had two second-quarter 3-pointers en route to 12 points for West Las Vegas (19-10) and those 3s helped open up the game, Dons coach José Medina said.
“In the first half we knocked some down, so their defense had to open up,” he said. “So now there’s more spacing on the floor for our little guards to penetrate and dish and do what they need to do.”
West held a 32-26 halftime lead, but the closest the Huskies could get was 44-40 early in the second half. The Dons went on an 11-3 run at the point to seal the game. The visitors also were successful from the foul line down the stretch, going 11-for-16.
A big key was limiting the damage Hope could do on the inside.
“For being small, our people inside worked hard,” Medina said. “And we had a lot of help from the guards. Fronting, backing, weakside help. Pressuring on the ball. Trying to play the game with fundamentals and execute from that.” — Glen Rosales ALSO IN 4A: No. 3 Moriarty advanced with a 61-45 victory over No. 14 Hatch Valley. The top seed in 4A, Portales, routed No. 16 Bosque School 71-31.
Silver and Shiprock had first-round wins that put them on a path to meet Tuesday in the quarterfinals. So did Pojoaque Valley and Robertson.
Moriarty’s quarterfinal opponent is Santa Fe Indian, which edged Socorro.
OTHER CLASSES: Classes 3A and 2A went straight chalk as all higher seeds advanced. … In Class 1A, No. 11 seed Roy/Mosquero traveled over 500 miles one way, but upset No. 6 Animas 40-37.