Jefferson defeats Rio Rancho in OT
Holding the lead until late in the fourth quarter, Rio Rancho was unable to come up with the win against Jefferson.
The Lady Rams were able to build their lead to as much as 12 points going into the half, 25-13. The Lady Foxes came back with all pistons firing in the third quarter, outscoring Rio Rancho 15-6.
Rio Rancho held the lead until a pair of Aisha Villalobos free-throws gave Jefferson the lead, 36-35 with 2:26 to play. Rio Rancho fought back to lead 39-37 with 21.2 seconds left, but a clutch jumper by Martha Gonzalez with 2.2 seconds left gave Jefferson the tie.
In overtime, each team had one field goal each; the rest of the scoring came off visits to the free-throw line. Jefferson racked up 5 points at the line, compared to Rio Rancho’s one point.
Ruby Rodriguez of Jefferson led all scorers with 11 points, followed by Martha Gonzalez and Aisha Villalobos with 10 apiece. Rio Rancho’s Nishelle Newsome led the Rams with 10 points.
Rio Rancho will now face Cleveland at 11:00 AM.
Jefferson will be facing a very good Eldorado team to determine the winner of the consolation bracket. Jefferson/Eldorado will begin at 1:00 PM.
Mayfield runs past Oñate
Mayfield had little trouble with their cross-town competitor Oñate, on their way to a 49-35 victory Tuesday evening.
The fast-paced game saw the Lady Trojans lead 18-2 at the end of the first period, and 27-7 at the half. While Mayfield’s offensive output was impressive, their press and overall hustle at defense stifled and frustrated the Lady Knights.
Oñate’s offense was able to get a kick-start in the second half of the game, scoring eight in the third to match Mayfield’s eight, and outscoring the Lady Trojans, 16-8 in the fourth, but it was too little, too late.
Oñate’s Andrea Reiff led all scorers on the night with 13 points, followed by Mayfield’s Alina Bourger, with 10.
Mayfield now faces their fierce district rival, Las Cruces, in the championship game at 5:00 PM. Oñate has their work cut out for them, facing Hobbs and their sharpshooters at 3:00 PM.
Eldorado over Cleveland
The Lady Golden Eagles were able to right the ship against Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon, after falling short against Hobbs on Monday. With the 45-22 win, Eldorado face Jefferson in the consolation bracket championship.
Cleveland was able keep relatively close to the Eagles in the first two periods, behind by only five points going into the half. The third quarter saw the Eldorado offense explode, with 18 points to Cleveland’s six. Contributing to the swell of offense were six different Lady Eagles, including a three-pointer by Kya De Garmo and four points from senior forward Natalie Kane.
Las Cruces handles Hobbs
The Lady Dawgs were determined not to let Hobbs get a run going, and held them back for a 46-34 victory in the final game of Day 2 action.
Read about the Las Cruces-Hobbs game in the Las Cruces Sun-News.
