Mustangs end their wait; La Cueva’s continues
Belen boys pull away in 2nd half
It had waited long enough. On Tuesday night, the West Mesa girls basketball team wasn’t about to wait any longer.
After visiting Valley scored the game’s first two points, the Mustangs went on a 14-0 tear and never looked back in clinching the District 4-6A title with a 60-21 rout. West Mesa (221, 9-0) had not won a girls district hoops crown in 39 years.
“It was senior night, and Valentine’s Day, so everyone had a lot on their minds,” said West Mesa sophomore Maiah Rivas, who had a team-high 12 points. “But everyone knows, that when it’s game time it’s game time. Everyone had some butterflies, but we were ready.”
The Mustangs had six field goals in the first quarter — all by different players — which ended 17-4. West Mesa finished as it started, going on a 21-0 run during the third and fourth quarters. The Vikings (6-17, 2-7) didn’t score in the final period until Nicole Chavez hit a bank shot with 14 seconds remaining.
The balanced Mustangs were playing without injured sophomore Esperanza Varoz, the team’s leading scorer at 15 points and five assists a game. But nearly all of her teammates got into the scoring column on Tuesday, as coach Manny Otero mixed and matched lineups throughout the game.
“It doesn’t really matter who gets put in, because we really trust each and we all play so hard,” Rivas said.
ELDORADO 49, LA CUEVA 44: At La Cueva, the Eagles delayed the Bears’ coronation as District 2-6A champions at least until Saturday by coming back in the fourth quarter to win.
Joely DePoy and Sydney Candelaria each scored 18 points to lead Eldorado (185, 7-2) over the Bears (167, 8-1). La Cueva can still clinch the regular-season 2-6A title outright Saturday night at Clovis.
SANDIA 67, CLOVIS 50: At Sandia, Cara Liggins had a season-high 35 points for the Matadors (18-5, 6-3 in 2-6A).
ST. PIUS 44, BELEN 28: At St. Pius, Maya Trujillo and Taylor Reed combined for 30 points to pace the Sartans (17-7, 6-2 in 5-5A).
HOPE CHRISTIAN 66, PORTALES 42: In Portales, the Huskies (23-2, 6-0 in 4-4A) closed out a perfect district campaign. HIGHLAND 59, ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 26: At Highland, Natazanya Crespin led the Hornets (14-9, 7-2 in 4-6A) with 16 points.
Boys
BELEN 52, ST. PIUS 35: In Belen, the Eagles outscored the Sartans 20-4 in the pivotal third quarter and secured at least a tie for the District 5-5A regularseason title.
It was the first game for Belen since head coach Patrick Mondragon was arrested over the weekend on allegations that he had criminal sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl.
“(Interim coach Pablo Gabaldon) just told us that we were going to win on the defensive side and everything would be good,” said Eagle guard Justin Evans, who scored a 10 points, as did forward Matthew Padilla. “We just came together and got it done,” he said.
The Sartans and Eagles played a tight, defensiveoriented game in the first half before a tense crowd. The teams traded scoring spurts and ended up tied 24-24 at halftime.
St. Pius (13-10, 4-4) opened the third quarter with a trey and Gabaldon immediately called a timeout.
The Eagles (19-6, 6-1) responded by scoring three straight buckets off steals and fast breaks that resulted in an 18-0 run that gave Belen all the momentum.
Los Lunas edged Grants on Tuesday, so there is still a chance the Eagles and Tigers could tie for the regular-season title. Belen visits Grants on Friday.