Pecos steals night, blue trophy away
Herrera has 25 points, 10 thefts in title win
The Lordsburg High School girls basketball team on Friday night committed 50 turnovers — and still very nearly won the Class 2A state championship.
Alas, the Mavericks could not overcome those half a hundred giveaways, and top-seeded Pecos (14-0) earned the blue trophy with a 61-55 victory over No. 2 seed Lordsburg (12-2) at the Pit.
Senior guard Trinity Herrera had a rare double-double — 25 points and 10 steals — as the Panthers won state for the second time in three seasons.
Pecos scored 41 points off the 50 Lordsburg turnovers.
Lordsburg shot 56.8% from the field, Pecos just 28.6%. But the Panthers attempted 63 shots from the floor, compared to a mere 37 for the Mavericks.
So how did the Mavericks manage to give themselves a chance to win? Look no further than senior Madison Miller.
The 6-foot Miller single-handedly kept Lordsburg in this game with a stellar 29-point, 18-rebound, eight-blocks performance. The Mavericks led 52-47, their largest of the game, with 3:48 remaining after Miller scored eight straight.
But Pecos’ pressure sparked a 7-0 run that featured three Maverick turnovers, and the Panthers never trailed again.
There were nine ties and seven lead changes.
— James Yodice
NO. 1 PECOS 61, NO. 2 LORDSBURG 55 LORDSBURG (12-2): Karissa Delagarza 1-3 0-0 3, Alicia Jaquez 2-4 0-2 4, Brook Hooper 2-5 1-2 5, Angie Aguilar 1-2 3-4 5, Madison Miller 12-16 5-7 29, Emma Mendoza 1-4 2-3 5, Ana Rodriguez 2-3 0-0 4, Alicia Jarrott 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-37 11-18 55. PECOS (14-0): Trinity Herrera 6-16 13-16 25, Alexis Gonzales 4-10 3-4 11, Alexia Herrera 0-4 0-0 0, Mistidawn Roybal 4-12 3-6 11, Savanah Ortiz 2-7 5-7 9, Natalia Stout 2-13 1-2 5, Mariah Ruiz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-63 25-35 61. Lordsburg 12 17 13 13 — 55 Pecos 13 15 16 17 — 61 3-point goals: L 2-6 (Mendoza 1-3, Delagarza 1-3; P 0-14 (Gonzales 0-4, Stout 0-3, T.Herrera 0-2, A.Herrera 0-2, Ortiz 0-2, Ruiz 0-1). Rebounds: L 47 (Miller 18); P 22 (Ortiz 7). Assists: L 17 (Jaquez 7); P 8 (Stout 3). Field-goal percentage: L 56.8%; P 28.6%. Total fouls: L 21; P 17. Fouled out: P, Delagarza. Technical: L coach Plowman. Steals: L 12 (Hooper 4); P 34 (T.Herrera 10). Turnovers: L 50; P 23. Blocked shots: L 10 (Miller 8); P 4 (T.Herrera 3).
Class 2A boys
Rehoboth Christian (15-0) on Friday won the program’s first state title in 44 years, as the No. 1 seed rallied furiously in the second half to overtake No. 2 Jal 55-50 in the 2A final at the Pit.
Rehoboth Christian authored a stirring comeback, overcoming a seasonhigh 14-point deficit. Jal (14-1) led 35-21 in the middle of the third quarter.
Jal turned it over four times during a 10-0 Rehoboth run that sliced the Lynx deficit to 35-31, ending with Mato Chapman’s 3-pointer.
Chapman hit another 3 to tie the game at 39 early in the fourth quarter, and senior forward Jake Zylstra put Rehoboth in front with a short jumper, 41-39, with 5:57 remaining.
Zylstra finished with a game-high 23 points, including 9 of 12 shooting.
Jal’s Jacob Lujan drilled a 3 to square things at 50-all with 1:17 remaining, but Rehoboth scored the final five in the last minute.
— James Yodice
NO. 1 REHOBOTH CHRISTIAN 55, NO. 2 JAL 50 JAL (14-1): Jacob Lujan 3-13 2-3 9, Nathan Galindo 0-0 0-2 0, Alexavier Carreon 2-8 1-2 5, Josh Cervantes 5-13 7-10 18, Andres Lujan 1-2 0-0 2, Ethan Sandoval 2-3 0-0 5, Daniel Jones 1-3 3-3 5, Roger Carreon 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 17-46 13-20 50. REHOBOTH CHRISTIAN (15-0): Talon West 4-11 5-6 14, Isaac Zwiers 1-2 2-2 4, Mato Chapman 4-5 0-1 12, Jake Zylstra 9-12 4-6 23, Casey Joe 0-4 0-0 0, Raeden West 1-5 0-0 2, Reece Black Moon 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-40 11-15 55. Jal 16 12 11 11 — 50 Rehoboth 8 12 15 20 — 55 3-point goals: J 3-11 (Sandoval 1-2, Cervantes 1-3, J.Lujan 1-5, A.Lujan 0-1); RC 6-18 (Chapman 4-5, T.West 1-2, Zylstra 1-3, R.West 0-4, Joe 0-3, Blak Moon 0-1). Rebounds: J 33 (Cervantes 9); RC 25 (Zylstra 7). Assists: J 11 (Cervantes, Jones 3); RC 10 (T.West 5). Field-goal percentage: J 37%; RC 47.5%. Total fouls: J 12; RC 15. Steals: J 7 (Sandoval 2); RC 10 (T.West 3). Blocked shots: J 0; RC 3 (T.West 2). Turnovers: J 16; RC 15.
Class 3A girls
Top-seeded Navajo Prep removed any suspense early in its 63-47 win over No. 6 Robertson. Four of Prep’s first five baskets were 3s in an 18-2 run to open the game.
In earning a repeat championship, the Eagles (14-0) also forced eight turnovers in the first quarter, leaving Robertson (10-5), which has no seniors, four juniors and eight sophomores, a bit discombobulated.
TionTai Woods had 23 points and Aiona Johnson 13 for Navajo Prep.
— Glen Rosales
NO. 1 NAVAJO PREP 63, NO. 6 ROBERTSON 47 ROBERTSON (10-5): Azlyn Padilla 2-8 0-0 6, Alexis Pacheco 1-12 4-4 6, Liana Fernandez 1-3 0-0 2, Emaya Smith 2-3 1-2 5, Jayden Jenkins 8-17 7-9 23, Carli Marrujo 1-2 0-0 2, Yesenia Esquibel 0-2 0-0 0, Cadey Estrada 0-0 0-0 0, Natalia Martinez 1-3 0-0 3, Faith Schlinger 0-0 0-0 0, Jazelle Mares 0-0 0-0 0, Jayla Cordova 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 16-52 12-15 47. NAVAJO PREP (14-0): Cienna Harrison 2-6 0-0 6, Hailey Martin 4-9 4-5 12, Amber Garcia 1-3 1-1 3, Aiona Johnson 4-14 3-4 13, TionTai Woods 10-21 2-3 23, Nicole Martin 0-1 0-0 0, Catlynn Lee 2-3 0-0 4, Keeden Russell 0-3 0-0 0, Tru Billie 0-0 0-0 0, Amber White 0-0 0-0 0, Erika Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 10-13 63. Robertson 6 12 17 12 — 47 Navajo Prep 23 12 20 8 — 63
3-point goals: R 3-11 (Padilla 2-5, Pacheco 0-2, Fernandez 0-1, Martinez 1-2); NP 5-21 (Harrison 2-4, Garcia 0-1, Ai. Johnson 2-7, Woods 1-6, An. Johnson 0-1, N. Martin 0-1, Russell 0-1). Rebounds: R 35 (Jenkins 9); NP 47 (An. Johnson 10). Assists: R 9 (Padilla 4); NP 11 (H. Martin 3, Garcia 3). Steals: R 11 (Jenkins 4); NP 16 (H. Martin 4, Woods 4). Turnovers: R 23; NP 15. Total fouls: R 11; NP 18. Fouled out: NP, H. Martin.