Lady Sundevils overcome Gallup
Finally, the monkey is off of the Española Valley Lady Sundevils’ back.
For the first time in four years, Española beat the Gallup Lady Bengals, using a 20-14 scoring spurt in the fourth quarter to hold them off by a 74-66 count in a nondistrict girls basketball game in Edward Medina Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
Even though Gallup (6-7) might not be as good as it was the past two seasons when it played for the Class 5A state title, Lady Sundevils head coach Cindy Roybal said what mattered was getting past the mental block her team had playing the Lady Bengals.
“It doesn’t matter that Gallup is having a down year,” Roybal said. “They’re still going to be in the state tournament. They’re Gallup. They are dad-gum Gallup, and they weren’t going to lay down. They didn’t want to be the first team that lost to Española.”
That motivation helped Gallup take a 27-26 lead at the half and extend it to eight points in the third quarter thanks to the hot shooting of Kalisha Kinsel. She had 17 of her 19 points by that point and hit three straight 3-pointers at one point.
Roybal said she felt compelled to pressure the Lady Bengals despite their speedy guards.
“I was really scared to pressure them because I thought they were really fast,” Roybal said. “I didn’t have a choice, though, after we were down eight. Luckily, they understood where I wanted them to press and how I wanted them to press.”
It worked as the Lady Sundevils (9-4) took a 54-52 lead after three quarters and never looked back. Alexis Lovato led Española with a career-best 41 points, while Leah DeAguero added 13.
Kinsel finished with 19 points to lead Gallup.
WEST LAS VEGAS 52, MORA 37
The Rangerettes were unwelcome pests that the Lady Dons could not get rid of until the fourth quarter in a nondistrict game in Gillie Lopez Gymnasium. West Las Vegas (10-3) led only led 38-34 heading into the final 8 minutes before holding Mora to just three points the rest of the way. The Lady Dons hit 10 of 13 free throws in the final quarter and 21-for-29 overall.
Alisson Hill led West Las Vegas with 14 points, while Tiffany Encinias added 12 and Annalysse Lucero 11. Maria Garcia paced the Rangerettes (6-10) with nine points, while Monika Pacheco and Esmeralda Lovato each added eight.
MONTE DEL SOL 43, DESERT ACADEMY 8
On the surface, it was the best win for the Lady Dragons on the season, but their head coach, Ricardo Arredondo, felt otherwise.
Much of that centered around the first half, as Monte del Sol only led 16-4 at the break of a nondistrict game in the Driscoll Center at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.
“We still haven’t started to play, and that’s my fault,” Arredondo said. “I can’t seem to get them ready.”
The Lady Dragons (3-8) outscored the Lady Wildcats 13-0 in the third quarter to pull away to a 29-4 lead. Ali Castillo led Monte del Sol with 17 points, and Ariana Rodriguez added 14.
BOYS ESPAÑOLA 38, BELEN 37
The Sundevils let a 31-25 lead entering the fourth quarter slip away, but it took a Christian Fernandez 3 with 2.5 seconds left to help them pull out a hard-earned nondistrict win in Belen.
Poor free-throw shooting hurt Española (13-2) down the stretch, as it missed five of six in the final 2 minutes. That was the antithesis of the previous two games, in which the Sundevils were a combined 17-for-19 in the final quarter in wins over St. Michael’s and Las Vegas Robertson last week.
Fernandez finished with 14 points, while J.P. Sena led the team with 14.
DESERT ACADEMY 48, MONTE DEL SOL 39
The Dragons fell behind 26-17 at the half, but chipped away at the Wildcats’ lead.
However, the closest Monte del Sol could get was within two points a couple of times before Desert Academy escaped with its second straight nondistrict win over the Dragons. The two teams played in the third-place game of the Bean Valley Conference Tournament in Estancia on Saturday, with the Wildcats winning 50-39.
“It was a good, low-scoring defensive game,” wrote Dragons head coach Alfredo Lujan in a text message. “We’re getting stronger every game, but we make too many young, unforced mistakes.”
Dillon Montoya had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Dragons (8-4), while Isaiah Salazar had five steals and six rebounds. Desert Academy (8-7) had John Rigatti score 20 points.
ABQ. MENAUL 55, SANTA FE PREP 47
Six-foot-9 trumps 5-11 on the basketball court.
The Panthers (12-2) had the size in 6-9 Michael Ou, who scored 37 points and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch to beat the Blue Griffins in a nondistrict game in Prep Gymnasium.
Prep (3-12) crept to within 38-33 heading into the fourth quarter and got the lead down to two at one point in the fourth before Menaul’s big man took control.
“Michael, he is big,” Prep head coach Clyde Sanchez said. “It’s hard to guard a 6-9 guy with your biggest guy, who is 5-11.”
Dillon Abeyta led the Blue Griffins 20 points.
FROM MONDAY — GIRLS ST. MICHAEL’S 62, SANTA FE HIGH 52
The Lady Horsemen opted to play up-tempo, pressing the Demonettes all game long.
The strategy broke down late in the second quarter, as Santa Fe High used a 12-0 run to finish the first half and take a 32-26 lead. But it worked almost perfectly in the third, as St. Michael’s (8-7) outscored the Demonettes 18-7 to take a 44-39 lead.
“We pressed them the whole game to take them away from what they were trying to do,” Lady Horsemen head coach Martin Romero said.
Jocelyn Fernandez had 30 points for her best performance of the season for the Lady Horsemen, while Danielle Vigil added 10. Taylor Salazar and Elena Gonzales each had 13 for Santa Fe High (6-9), and Adonica Baca-Martinez added 10.