CLASS 4A/5A GIRLS BASKETBALL CAPSULES

The Class 5A/4A girls basketball district outlooks for Northern schools:

DISTRICT 5-5A

Talk to anyone in this group and they’ll all say the same thing: It’s Albuquerque High’s district to lose. The Bulldogs went undefeated in 5-5A last season, winning 20 games and claiming one of the district’s two spots in the state tournament. There’s no reason to expect anything different this time around. AHS returns one of the state’s top players in Leilani Love, a 6-foot-1 senior forward who can do a little bit of everything, including handling the ball against any guard lined up against her. To take what amounts to a quantum leap and overtake Albuquerque High, it means finding an inside-out balance that can counteract anything the Bulldogs throw at you. Neither Santa Fe High nor Capital has the personnel to protect the rim, which will force both teams to go guard-heavy in an attempt to keep up in a district that is wide open for second place. Santa Fe High will go as far as their guards can carry them. Without a true low-post option, the Demonettes will hand the reins to seniors Maci Cordova and Katelyn Padilla, among others. Cordova is the type of player who will sacrifice her body for the sake of making a play while Padilla is simply as tough as they come. She’s fast, physical and never quits. That will truly be the identity of Santa Fe High’s season, one that comes with plenty of challenges — the least of which is the schedule. The Demonettes are in the midst of a brutal 13-game stretch without a home game. They won’t be on their own court again until the district opener against Albuquerque High on Jan. 17, the fourth of what will only be eight home games all season. Capital is led by co-captain Amerie Romero, a senior whose ability to draw contact will give her a chance to draw plenty of fouls and pile up points at the free throw line. She attempted 17 of them in a recent loss to Manzano. Help comes in the form of junior Kayla Martinez, sophomore guard Shania Gallegos and senior co-captain Nicole Salazar. Martinez can be the go-to option in the paint while Gallegos and Salazar could benefit from Romero’s ability to syphon double teams to create space for the other guards.

DISTRICT 2-4A

Taos rolled through this neighborhood a year ago, but the early signs point to a new direction for 2-4A. Off to an 0-3 start and upcoming games against Robertson and St. Michael’s, the Lady Tigers have some work to do. They’re coming off a 22-win season after going unbeaten in district play, but a re-tooled roster may take time to develop. Moriarty looks like the team to beat this season, but early indications are that Pojoaque Valley and Española Valley have reason for optimism. Pojoaque’s biggest problem will be generating offense, something it’s struggled with. The Elkettes have cracked 40 points just once in their first seven games and their glaring lack of a post presence will hurt in games where pounding the ball into the paint is key. There was once a time when Española Valley could change coaches, change personnel and keep on winning. Last year’s inconsistent 12-win team could feature more of the same unless the Lady Sundevils start draining 3s and make more of those line-drive layups through traffic. When it works, it works beautifully. When it doesn’t things look like they did a year ago — up and down. Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but scoring is going to be an issue with Los Alamos. The Hilltoppers will turn to guard GG Romero for the bulk of the heavy lifting as she, Carley Holland and Abigail Martinez represent one of the top backcourts in the district with senior Tara McDonald the top post option.