Both Melrose squads earn berths in finals

BERNALILLO — Melrose has a chance to pull off a sweep of the Class 1A basketball titles after its boys and girls both defeated Quemado in semifinal action Thursday at Bernalillo High.

The Melrose girls will face seven-time defending champion Elida, which knocked off Des Moines in the other semifinal.

The girls play for a title today at the Pit at 11:30 a.m. Melrose’s boys play the 8 a.m. Saturday final at the Pit against Maxwell.

No. 1 ELIDA 39, No. 4 DES

MOINES 30: Lacy Ferguson and Kasyn Creighton scored 10 points each for Elida (24-7) on the hardfought defensive battle. Grace Hill had six of 21-9 Des Moines’ 10 baskets, and she finished with 15 points.

Two other Fergusons, Madison and Maislyn, hit 3-pointers for Elida on a dominant 13-4 second quarter, which provided a 23-13 halftime edge.

No. 2 MELROSE 46, No. 3 QUEMADO 42: Hailey Martin scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds for Melrose (23-7), which rallied from a 37-32 deficit entering the fourth period. The Buffaloes won the game from the free-throw line, hitting 12 of 13 tries.

Ashanti Mathis’ 12 points led Quemado (21-7).

Boys

No. 1 MELROSE 55, No. 4 QUEMADO 39: Tristan Sena hit three 3-pointers and scored 18 points for the Buffaloes (28-3), a 34-20 winner in rebounding. Jordan Jasso had 13 points and 12 boards.

Adrian Lackey led Quemado (23-6) with 14 points.

No. 2 MAXWELL 72, No. 6 SPRINGER 40: Kolten Riggs poured in 32 points and grabbed 20 rebounds for Maxwell (28-1), which owned a 50-24 edge on the glass. Bryan Romero had a teamhigh 16 points and nine rebounds for Springer (19-12).