Foes St. Michael’s, Robertson to meet in postseason for third time in seven years
St. Michael’s and Las Vegas Robertson face off in State Tournament for third time in seven years
The New Mexico Activities Association has a twisted sense of humor. When the state’s governing body for high school athletics released the brackets for this year’s State Basketball Championships — which begins Friday with firstround girls games in all six classifications — the girls’ draw in Class 4A had a familiar feel to it.
There, slotted into one corner of the 16-team field, was the No. 3/ No. 14 matchup that, on paper, is supposed to be a blowout in the making.
Eh, not so. Not this year. Not on the kind of paper Northern New Mexico is used to.
Seeded third is Las Vegas Robertson, the regular season champion out of District 2-4A. The Cardinals have won 20 games and feature one of the top starting rotations in the entire state.
Seeded 14th is St. Michael’s, Robertson’s district rival and a team that has a long playoff history with the Lady Cardinals.
“I gotta say, I was watching the selection show with the team and everyone just kind of grinned when we saw who we were playing,” said St. Michael’s head coach Martin Romero. “I can probably say this right now: It’s nicer for us than it is for them. When you’re that higher seed, you want that familiarity.”
The teams have met three times this season with the Lady Horsemen having gained a measure of confidence from the last two; a fourpoint win at home in January and a six-point loss in Las Vegas a month ago.
What’s more, this will be their third encounter in seven years at state. The Lady Horsemen memorably scored one of the biggest upsets in school history in the 2011 tournament when, as the 14-seed, they stunned No. 3 Robertson with a 20-point rout.
They met again two years ago with St. Michael’s, then the 4-seed, holding on for a nine-point win at home.
“I remember that game because we were up in the fourth quarter and we almost did to them what they did to us,” said Robertson head coach Leroy Barela. “Anything can
happen at state and, yeah, I think it helps when you’re the lower seed and your first game is against someone you know as well as we know each other. Is that their advantage this time? We’ll see.”
The key matchup boils down to whatever St. Michael’s guard Monse Camarena-Leija can do on defense
to slow down Robertson’s Maria Barela. One of four regulars averaging double figures, the Lady Cardinals eighth-grader will find herself as the primary target of Camarena Leija’s chaser defense.
“It’s a thankless job to be the per--
son your coach asks to stop their best player,” Romero said. “It’s a credit to Monse and the kind of player she is. She’s been doing it all year for us and every game she hardly gets a rest. From a fan’s perspective it might be hard to see what she does, but from where we sit we couldn’t do it without her.”
A 5-foot-4 senior, CamarenaLeija is also the facilitator on offense. Often times that means finding Jocelyn Fernandez in transition. A physical player who has a fearless mindset, she is to Robertson’s defense what Barela is to Camarena-Leija.
“Joce can be a handful for any team in the state,” Leroy Barela said. “She one of those players you have to focus on, have to put energy into.”
Another component that cannot be ignored? The bigs. Robertson’s 6-2 senior center is Angelica Montoya, a three-time all-district post. She averages nearly 11 points and eight rebounds. One of the few players with the size to cause her problems is 6-foot St. Michael’s senior Danielle Vigil.
“Foul trouble,” Romero said. “Whichever team can avoid the fouls with the bigs will have the edge. If you lose that it changes the dynamic of the game.”
To hear the coaches talk, it’s pretty clear that the 3/14 matchup has nothing to do with seeding. It’s all about taking two rivals who know each other well, then using the survive-and-advance approach to reach next week’s quarterfinals.
“They [the NMAA] didn’t make it easy,” Barela said. “I don’t know what Martin’s reaction was when he saw the bracket, but mine was — well, let’s just say it was eye-catching.”
Class 6A
Santa Fe High returns to the state tournament for the first time since 2015.
That’s the good news. The bad is that the 16th-seeded Demonettes have to travel southeast to face top seed Hobbs at Tasker Arena, a place the Lady Eagles have won 16 straight and are 13-0 this season.
“I’m not sure anyone did us any favors but you know what? We’re in the tournament and we’ve still got a chance,” said Santa Fe High head coach Lanse Carter.
Hobbs has an average scoring margin of 21 points this season and has allowed an opponent to reach 50 just once — in the second game of the season. The Demonettes are averaging 51.5 points and appear healthy from top to bottom. They just got leading scorer Adonica BacaMartinez back from a concussion and starting center Elena Gonzales is riding high after averaging 14 points and 10 rebounds during the District 2-6A schedule.
“We’re as close to hitting our stride as we have been maybe all year,” Carter said.
Class 5A
Expectations are always high for Española Valley and, as the No. 3 seed, they’re through the
roof once again as the Lady Sundevils open the tournament at home Friday against No. 14 Aztec. It’s a rematch if a game won handily by Española early in the season.
It will be the final go-around for Lady Sundevils seniors Leah DeAguero, Alexis Lovato, Annalynn Martinez and Alycia Archibeque, a core group that has helped them reach the semifinals each of the last two years.
Ironically, the one state tournament stumbling block the team has yet to clear is potentially waiting in the quarterfinals. Seeded No. 11, Gallup has ended Española’s season each of the last three years but first has to score an upset of No. 6 Albuquerque St. Pius X.
Class 4A
Five of the eight first-round games feature teams from the area, including No. 15 Santa Fe Indian School heading out on the road to face perennial power Shiprock, the 2-seed. The Lady Chieftains hammered SFIS in last year’s state semifinals in The Pit.
Each of the bracket’s bottom four seeds are from the area. At No. 13, Pojoaque Valley drew a brutal opening round assignment at another powerhouse, No. 4 Portales, while Taos was handed the No. 16 seed and heads to twotime defending state champion Albuquerque Hope Christian.
West Las Vegas won the 2-4A tournament title with a win over Robertson, yet the Lady Dons were saddled with the No. 6 seed.
Small schools
Pecos was a 20-game winner this season but landed the No. 7 seed in Class 3A. The Lady Panthers roll into the tournament as one of the hottest teams in 3A, having won 14 of their last 15 behind leading scorer Cassaundra Muller and her 15.3-point average.
Also in the field is No. 12 McCurdy, which heads to Laguna-Acoma. The Lady Hawks have won 22 games and are seeded No. 5.
An intriguing matchup in 2A has district rivals Peñasco, the 11-seed, at No. 6 Escalante. The teams have combined for 37 wins and it wasn’t all that long ago that Peñasco was sitting on a 10-0 record that has them rise to the No. 1 overall ranking in 2A.
Joining them in the tournament is district rival Mora, the 9-seed. The Rangerettes will visit Ramah with a chance to face No. 1 Tatum in the quarterfinals. Tatum is home to No. 16 Mesa Vista.
In the 1A bracket, the only local team to make it in is No. 6 Coronado. The Lady Leopards will have a home game Friday night against No. 11 Vaughn.