Lady Tigers’ winning streak comes to an end
Suffer heartbreaking loss against Sundevils in quarterfinals
After a strong performance against the Española Sundevils in the first round of the state tournament bracket, the Lady Tigers suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Bernalillo Lady Spartans on Tuesday (March 8).
Left-handed Juliana Aragon averages 30 points a game for the Lady Spartans. Taos slowed her down, but not by much, as she scored 29 on the night. At least five of those points were from late-fourth-quarter fouls in an attempt to erase a double-digit deficit, sending her to the free throw line. The referees did seem to blow the whistle in her favor on some of her drives that could have gone either way.
As is often the case, when a skilled basketball player forces the issue, they get the benefit of the doubt. With her dribbling expertise, she got to the restricted area at will throughout the game. Lady Tiger Kionamua Ely did offer resistance near the rim, but not enough to offset the many chances Aragon had to score.
In the first quarter Taos was going toe-to-toe with Bernalillo, who have only lost one game this season. Still, there were a couple of troubling signs for the Lady Tigers. One was the offensive rebounds Taos was giving up to Bernalillo. The Lady Spartans weren’t necessarily red-hot from the field, but they often followed their misses to get the ball back and create another open look. The more troubling
problem was the unforced errors in transition for Taos. After playing good defense and securing the rebound, the Lady Tigers would push the ball up the court, and then often lose the ball. On one play, Isabela Herrera dribbled past the half court line and once there, got trapped with no one to pass it to. The strength of Taos became a liability.
What might have deflated the fight in Taos might have been a couple of questionable calls in the second quarter when the basketball game was still close, 21-25 in the Lady Spartans’ favor. Ely was called for a foul on a 3-point attempt, where she got the block on Leah Valdez. If there was a foul,
The Lady Tigers head coach Eric Mares gives a pep talk to his players during a home game on Friday (Feb. 25) in Taos.
it appeared to be on the follow through and would have been a slight touch on the fingertips of a shooter who was jumping forward. Valdez would knock down all three free throws.
On the next Spartan possession, Aragon plowed through Madelynn Quintana, who was trying to draw the charge, but instead it was an and-1 opportunity for Aragon.
Those two plays resulted in a sixpoint swing for the Lady Spartans. At half time, they led 31-25.
The Lady Tigers came out flat in the second half as Bernalillo scored eight unanswered points. The Taos’ offensive strategy is predicated on driving it straight to the rim, with a minimal amount of shots taken from long 2-pointers or 3-pointers. The Lady Spartans weren’t concerned with defending beyond the arc. They let Taos drive, and then would steal the ball within the tight
confines of the paint. It was like watching a piece of wood driven through a band-saw.
Many times, Bernalillo would have up to four defenders near Ely. By instinct, and force of habit, that ball would find her in the paint regardless, with those four defenders at the ready.
Even down by double digits halfway through the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers stuck to their guns and attacked the rim, but couldn’t inch closer. With a couple of minutes to go, Quintana started chucking 3-pointers but hadn’t established a strong shooting rhythm in the game yet.
The strong basketball identity of the Lady Tigers earned them a 16-game winning streak and a quarterfinals match in the state tournament, but it couldn’t get them past Bernalillo and the prolific scoring of Juliana Aragon.