Goddard goes from unknown to unforgettable
Rockets pull away for 1st state championship
In a small sea of powder blue in the middle of Bob King Court, the Goddard Rockets celebrated their inclusion into the most exclusive sorority there is in New Mexico high school athletics.
A championship game newcomer, Goddard overcame a 10½-minute scoring drought — and the pedigree of the Los Lunas Tigers — to capture the Class 5A girls state title with a stirring 35-30 victory Friday night at the Pit.
On a week already chock full of upsets, this was one of the most crowd-pleasing of the week.
“Unknown at the beginning of the season,” said Goddard coach Jared Neighbors. “And now we’re unforgettable.”
The fifth-seeded Rockets (22-9) outscored No. 2 seed Los Lunas (23-8) 16-2 in the fourth quarter, including the final six over the last 1:53 after the Tigers took a 30-29 lead with 3:49 remaining.
The Tigers turned the ball over six times in those final four minutes, however, constantly flustered by Goddard’s swarming double teams.
“Defense is what we’re best at,” said Goddard senior guard Desi Flores. “I feel like we work together really well, we shift well, we talk. I feel like confidence is key when it comes to basketball and we have a lot of confidence in (our) defense.”
Perhaps surprisingly, it was Los Lunas that sweltered under the heat of the Rockets’ flame.
“We fell short, that is the bottom line,” Tigers coach Marty Zeller said. “We fell short.”
The game was back and forth throughout the first half. The Rockets led 7-2. The Tigers answered with a 10-3 run for a 12-10 edge. Goddard regrouped and took a 19-17 lead into halftime.
The second half was odd. The Rockets had turnover issues in the third quarter, with
Los Lunas outscoring Goddard 11-0 in that period. With Hayley Torres hitting an early 3 and a late 3 for Los Lunas, it led 28-19.
“We were overwhelmed at the time,” said Rockets junior forward Camaryn Villalpando.
It appeared to be the first true sign that the moment was smothering Goddard.
“When we faced adversity, we looked each other in the eye,” said Neighbors. “And we believed that we would overcome.”
Flores finally ended the scoring drought, burying a 3-pointer with 6:56 left, Goddard’s first points in 10 minutes and 37 seconds. Then she scored another basket and the Rockets were right back in it, down 28-24.
Villalpando hit a huge 3 for Goddard with 4:20 remaining to tie the game at 29. The Tigers answered with a free throw at the 3:49 mark and didn’t score again.
Lara Carrica had the go-ahead basket, a layup with 1:53 left for a 31-30 lead, for her only points of the night. Micaela Kolker and Katherine Kolker both smoothly hit two free throws apiece for the final margin.
Villalpando had 11 points and eight rebounds to lead Goddard, which had upset No. 1 Roswell High in Thursday’s semifinals.
“Pretty sweet going through Roswell,” Neighbors said. “But the trophy stays in Roswell.”