Quality endgame sends St. Mike’s over Kirtland
ALBUQUERQUE — The St. Michael’s Lady Horsemen were no stranger to tight games during the regular season, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they outlasted a more youthful, less-experienced adversary with some quality fourth-quarter work.
Fourth-seeded St. Michael’s, which boasts five seniors and three juniors on its roster, pulled away late to capture a 45-37 victory over No. 5 Kirtland Central in a Class AAAA quarterfinal matchup at the Pit on Tuesday.
The Lady Horsemen will face topseed Portales in the semifinals at the Pit at 8 a.m. Thursday.
While St. Michael’s led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, it was by no means an easy victory. Neither team gained a significant edge early on in a game that featured five ties and nine lead changes through three quarters.
It wasn’t until the fourth that the Lady Horsemen completely clicked on both ends of the court.
“I think we started being more aggressive and finding the open person — especially in the middle — and running certain plays,” said senior Cristiana Gabaldon, who had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists for St. Michael’s. “Then they would come and double and we would get easy layups. I think when we get layups is when we are better on defense too, because we know we’re scoring easy. And if we get stops we’re just gonna keep scoring.”
The Lady Broncos, who gave playing time to an eighth grader and two freshmen in defeat, were unable to maintain their play throughout the game, some-
thing that has plagued the young team throughout the season.
“We’ve been stressing it all year,” Kirtland Central head coach Lindsay DeVries said. “I think with the experience we’ve had this year, hopefully next year once we start playing together again we’ll be able to get those four quarters together.”
St. Michael’s head coach Martin Romero said he didn’t count on the Lady Broncos’ youth working against them down the stretch. Instead, he expected his team to rely on past experience to pull through. Entering Tuesday, the Lady Horsemen were 8-3 in games decided by single digits.
“We didn’t think about that,” Romero said. “We didn’t [think] that they were young … it was just a quality opponent. They were dangerous and we knew the Kirtland Central history, and we just had to perform to the best of our abilities. Our district and our regular season has made us battle tested for a lot of these kind of games.
“My girls have shown some poise down the stretch to pull out some of these closer games.”
Senior post Alex Groenewold did her part to keep St. Michael’s (24-6) in the game early, as scored she 15 of her team’s 30 points through three quarters. She also had a game-high 11 rebounds.
“I just like going strong to the rim and knowing I’m gonna finish,” Groenewold said. “Just like coach says, don’t let the officials make the call. Finish at the rim and if you get the call, you get it.”
Groenewold did not score in the fourth quarter. Instead, as the Lady Broncos (17-11) channeled their defensive energy toward St. Michael’s leading scorer, the Lady Horsemen relied on a balanced effort that saw five players put the ball in the basket — including several uncontested layups. It wasn’t just offense that triggered St. Michael’s success, however.
In the second half, St. Michael’s switched from a box-and-one, which was designed to shut down Kirtland Central’s Deiondra Smith, to man-to-man in order to limit the Broncos’ perimeter offense.
The plan worked: Kirtland Central went 3-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half but failed to make a single shot from beyond the arc after halftime. According to Romero, that was just part of the reason for his team’s late success.
“We adjusted. We were playing a box and one early and went to man. We also did a better job boxing out and limiting them,” Romero said. “They were getting four looks in the first half, [and then] one, maybe two in the second. That was a big deal.”