Crazy Friday: Cibola girls win, but not the boys
Cougar boys are stunned by Hawks
Maybe, as Friday night’s slate began, there was still some lingering doubt about who might be the No. 1 seed for next month’s Class 6A girls basketball state tournament.
There is no question any longer.
With sophomore Amaya Brown banking in an 8-foot jump shot with 2 seconds remaining, Cibola’s girls went into Volcano Vista on Friday and beat the Hawks 45-44, a thriller that almost surely decided the regular-season champion in District 1-6A. And, probably more. “It was pretty big for us, because we wanted to be No. 1 in district, and No. 1 in the state, so it was very important,” said Brown, who finished with 12 points.
And Brown was severely under the weather.
“Sick as a dog,” Cibola coach Lori Mabrey said. “She threw up at halftime.”
Raven Herrera of the Hawks (17-4, 3-2 in 1-6A) nailed two free throws with 1:08 left, Volcano Vista’s first points of any kind since early in the quarter, when it led 42-37.
Cibola point guard Kavi Brown had the first shot at the go-ahead basket for Cibola, but missed with about 15 seconds remaining.
On a tie ball, Cibola got the ball with 10.7 seconds left.
It was Amaya Brown with the ball in her hands at the end.
“Corbyn (Cunningham) was supposed to set the screen for me, (but) I just took it because I did not want to lose,” Brown said through some heavy coughs. Her go-ahead — and game-winning — basket came with her off balance and being defended fairly well by the Hawks.
Volcano Vista got the ball with 1.7 seconds left, but never got off a shot to try to win.
“A 50-50 shot, and it went in,” Hawks coach Lisa Villareal said of Brown. “We did what we had to do, she just made the big play.”
Cibola (20-1, 5-0) led most of the first half, but the Hawks, with Deezha Battle heating up from beyond the arc, slowly worked their way in front in the middle and latter stages of the third quarter.
A 3 from Battle with 7:34 left in the game put Volcano Vista up by five, but that was the Hawks’ last field goal of the night.
Cunningham had 15 points to lead Cibola. Herrera finished with 20 points, Battle 18 for the Hawks.
VALLEY 56, WEST MESA 21: At Valley, the Vikings (129, 4-1 in 5-6A) had one of their best games of the season, with Shanea Shamburger scoring a team-best 21 points against the Mustangs (8-11, 2-3).
ATRISCO HERITAGE 57, ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 35: At Atrisco, Mayra Sandoval had 20 points to lead the Jaguars (14-8, 4-1 in 5-6A) over the Bulldogs (4-17, 1-4). Boys
VOLCANO VISTA 45, CIBO
LA 36: At Cibola, the Hawks — who had dropped five straight — stunned the second-ranked Cougars, who had their lowest point total of the season.
“They had to defend us for long stretches, and we shot on our terms,” Volcano Vista coach Greg Brown said. “And that helped our defense quite a bit.”
Volcano Vista (8-12, 1-4 in 1-6A) was led by junior forward David Cormier, who had 19 points.
“We have a bunch of youngsters, and it’s taken some time,” Brown said. “But it was Cibola, and we knew how good they are. Our guys had an edge about them.”
Isaac Maldonado led the Cougars (18-3, 4-1) with 15 points.
VALLEY 43, WEST MESA 39: At West Mesa, the Vikings had to rally big in the fourth quarter to escape with a District 5-6A victory. Segun Oyeku led Valley (15-6, 4-1 in 5-6A) with 14 points.
SANDIA 56, ELDORADO 49: At Sandia, senior post Caleb Wroten scored a team-best 22 points and led the Matadors (10-8, 5-0 in 2-6A) past the Eagles (5-16, 1-4).
HIGHLAND 67, LA CUEVA 52: At Highland, Devonte Smith-Vines poured in 21 points for the Hornets (6-13, 2-3 in 2-6A). La Cueva (8-13, 3-2) fell two games behind Sandia in the district with three games left.
SANTA FE 69, RIO RANCHO 65: At Rio Rancho, the Demons (9-13, 2-3 in 1-6A) rallied past the Rams (15-8, 3-2), but Rio Rancho did not lose any ground to Cibola in 1-6A.