Robertson makes statement to be top team in 4A
Junior wing Darley sparks scoring surge in dominating win over Abq. Hope Christian
AALBUQUERQUE lianza Darley was fuming.
The Las Vegas Robertson junior wing sat for the last 45 seconds of the first half of a nondistrict girls basketball game against Albuquerque Hope Christian on Wednesday, thanks to collecting her third foul of the night. Then, she had to sit through 10 minutes of halftime.
By the time the whistle blew to start the third quarter, the steam was coming out of her ears. In two minutes, Darley made her presence felt, and kick-started a Lady Cardinals comeback. She collected a pair of steals and scored seven straight points to pull Robertson out of a 22-14 hole.
The Lady Cardinals fed off that hot start and rolled to a 51-39 win over the Lady Huskies and cemented its status as the team to beat in Class 4A after beating Shiprock, Portales and Hope Christian over the past four weeks. And they did it on the road.
The Lady Cardinals faithful had Darley’s hot start to thank for that.
“I can’t control what the refs say or do,” Darley said. “I just have to play through it.”
Sort of like how Robertson had to play through a 5 for 24 shooting slump in the first half as Hope Christian built leads of 11-0, 18-7 and 21-10. The last of that string of 11-point leads came courtesy of a 3-pointer by Destiny Holien with 2:06 left in the first half. Robertson struggled to work the ball into the paint and also knocking down open shots.
“Sometimes, when we score first, that really sets us off,” Darley said. “But that’s not always the case. When they score first, then we’re like, ‘Oh, we need to step it up.’ ”
Except it took the Lady Cardinals (7-1) almost 6 minutes before they finally scored on a Jazmyne Jenkins putback to make it 11-2 at the 2:06 mark of the opening quarter. It had Lady Cardinals head coach Leroy Barela thinking about Robertson’s 53-42 loss to Portales in the Bobby Rodriguez Capital City Tournament semifinal in which his team played listlessly.
“It kinda felt like that,” Barela
said. “I think that game did something for us. It told the girls that if you play sloppy like that, it will effect you in the end. [Wednesday], we were able to pick that up.”
The turnaround, though, started before Darley went off in the second half. With Darley and point
guard Maria Barela sitting with three fouls, the Lady Cardinals had to turn to their bench to keep them in the game. Leann Salazar and Gabrielle Trujillo stepped in and did their part.
In fact, Robertson cut the lead to 21-14 with a pair of free throws
from Tessa Ortiz and a Jenkins putback before the break.
“These parts of the game never make the paper, but Gabby Trujillo and the things she does is consistent,” Barela said. “Last year, they
come in ranked in the Top 20 [according to MaxPreps.com’s Freeman rankings], and Alianza leaves the court with foul trouble and Gabby played the second, third and fourth quarters. She scored maybe two points, has maybe two rebounds, but takes care of the basketball and facilitates the offense. She continues to do that every night.”
Darley, who had a team-high 16 points, actually had an 11-point run to open the third quarter, and gave Robertson a 25-23 lead with a breakaway layup at the 5:14 mark. After that, the rest of the Lady Cardinals did their part to contribute.
Ortiz had a jumper gave her team a 27-25 lead.
Angelica Montoya scored six straight points to help Robertson to a 33-32 lead at 7:12 of the fourth.
Jenkins, who had nine points and 11 rebounds, had a shot off the glass for a 35-32 lead.
Ortiz had a drive from the left wing for a layup and a 39-35 lead with 4:54 left.
Suddenly, that slow start slowly retreated from the forefront of the Lady Cardinals’ thoughts.
“Last year, it was a big game, and we wanted it to be that big of a game again,” Ortiz said. “I think it was more in our heads and we just needed to start playing like we did in the second half.”
When Hope Christian (3-5) battled back to within 41-39 thanks in part of consecutive layups from Hayley Valencia with 2:24 left, the Lady Cardinals stepped up at the free-throw line. After making just 6 of 14 in the first half, Robertson hit its last 10 of the night to seal the win. Robertson also shot 12 for 26 from the field, while the Lady Huskies were just 7 for 26.
As if to cap her unsung performance, Trujillo finished the scoring with a layup with 4 second left. However, Trujillo’s presence was necessary because of an unfortunate right ankle injury to Montoya with 20.9 seconds left. She needed help off of the court and limped to the team bus with ice wrapped on her right foot.
“She may be out for a little while, but that stings,” Barela said. “She’s been a big part of this team and this program for the last three and a half years. She’ll rehab, and she’ll get back out here as soon as she’s ready.”
It made for a bittersweet night for the Lady Cardinals, but they left Albuquerque in a better place mentally then they entered.
At least, Darley did.