Pecos girls roll to 3-3A title over Raton
For the better part of a month, high school teams battle to win the regular-season district title. For a week, they fret about earning a week off because of it.
There is something about taking a week off after winning a district title that throws a team off its game, and the Pecos Lady Panthers got a taste of that Saturday night.
Raton came into Louis G. Sanchez Memorial Gymnasium for the District 3-3A Tournament championship game and hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter to get Pecos’ attention. That turned out to be the best thing for the Lady Panthers, who didn’t allow another triple the rest of the night as they rolled to a 71-39 win for the district tournament title.
The win is the 14th in the last 15 games for Pecos (20-7), which also won its third straight district tournament title.
Still, the first quarter was an eye-opener, even after Lady Panthers head coach Ron Drake talked to his players about what can happen to the host team.
“I told my girls Tucumcari upset Texico in the [5-3A] finals, West [Las Vegas] upset Robertson [in the 2-4A championship game],” Drake said. “Anything can happen.”
Pecos regained its composure after a quick timeout and took a 14-12 lead into the second quarter. The Lady Tigers (14-12) only managed four points in the second and the Lady Panthers led 29-16 at the half. A 29-12 run in the fourth quarter put the game away for Pecos.
Cassie Muller, the district MVP, had 16 points for the Lady Panthers, while fellow first-team members Brooke Gallegos and Megan Armijo had 12 and 10, respectively. Jamie Varela, also a 3-3A first-team selection, had eight rebounds and Gallegos had five steals.
PECOS 78, RATON 28
The Panthers rolled to their 16th straight double-digit win and their 25th win in a row by building a 51-10 lead at the half in the 3-3A Tournament championship in Louis G. Sanchez Memorial Gymnasium.
Mario Archuleta scored 26 points to lead Pecos (26-1), Carlos Cordova added 14 and Omar Dominguez had 10. Austin Jones had 15 points for Raton (12-16).
WEST LAS VEGAS 63, LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON 60
Different player. Same spot. Same result. For the second straight game, the Dons (188) needed a buzzer-beater to pull out a win in the 2-4A tournament. This time, freshman John Balizan drilled a 3 from the same right wing that Isaiha Gallegos hit in Thursday’s 54-51 win over St. Michael’s to beat the Cardinals (16-8) for the district tournament title in Michael Marr Gymnasium.
Robertson, the top seed in the tournament, rallied from a 50-44 deficit heading into the fourth quarter by outscoring West Las Vegas 17-10 through the first 7:59 of the quarter. The duo of Arjay Ortiz and Kesean Pryor scored 15 of Robertson’s fourth-quarter points to take a 61-60 lead. Ortiz finished with 25 points, while Pryor had nine of his 14 points in the final quarter. Noah Ledger also had 14 for the Cardinals.
D.J. Bustos led the Dons with 20 points, while Gallegos added 12 and Balizan seven.