The Cibola-Rio Grande game looked to be close one. The Journal is reporting that the RG head coach did not start his star shooting guard because of a  “strategic decision”. It boggles my mind why you wouldn’t start a player that can help you get to the next level and keep her out for the first three minutes. No complaints from Cibola for this egregious decision. Cougar Alex De La O had the shot to lift her team to the next level. Looking at the box, Cibola got exactly what they needed off the bench. Nice performance from Ashley Ward (14 pts) and Elyse Brewster (12 pts).

La Cueva shut down Mayfield’s three-point attack perfectly.

Eldorado: Yikes!

The final score in the Valley-Hobbs game: 60-19. Hobbs is a pretty good team and Valley ran past them with no problems. Valley played some great defense and had a strong showing from their bench. Angel Reyes lead all scorers with 20 points, followed by Jordan Gutierrez with 11. Watch out for the Vikes–if they can sustain this level of play, they will be are dangerous.

On the opposite end of the point differential spectrum, Manzano played Gallup much, much closer than I think anyone could have predicted. April Semler had 12 points, Caroline Lantor 11. Gallup’s Alannah Spencer lead the way for the Lady Bengals with 14 points.

Scores from last night

Updated Brackets

The seeding committees will meet at 10:00 in Albuquerque to decide the seeding of the respective classes. To view the complete committee list, download from the NMAA site. The final seeds are usually available by 12 noon.

Scores from last night

Mayfield 42, Las Cruces 40

Mayfield was determined to get a win against their nemesis, and while it may have taken them four regular season games and numerous match-ups over the summer, they finally got it.

Mayfield’s Elena Holguin lead the Lady Trojans on the night with 15, but it was Alina Burger’s two clutch three-point goals in the final minutes of the game that deflated the ‘Dawgs.

Las Cruces almost made the comeback with an Andrea Aragon three-point shot to bring them within two, but with Mayfield running an aggressive press, there were able to get the steal and hold on the ball for the win.

Eldorado 71, Rio Grande 48

Kya DeGarmo was in the zone last night, with 34 points (9 off 3-pointers) as Eldorado took care of business in the 5-5A district championship game. Very nice. Again, it looks like the majority of the Eldo bench got to see some play against the Ravens.

It wasn’t enough, but Monique Macias racked up 25 points of her own, followed by Bernadette Sanchez’s 17. Unfortunately, the combined total of the only other two players to score was six points.

Other Scores

Cleveland 37, Cibola 31

Kudos to Cleveland for making it to the district tournament championship game in their inaugural season. Lead by Sara Hattis’s 14 and Courtnie Latham’s 9, the Storm now gets to travel to Gallup and take on the tough Lady Bengals in an even tougher place to play. I wonder how effective Hattis will be with Gallup swarming all over her.

With Cibola’s Chapman out with a broken foot the bench needs to step up and produce (I posted about earlier this season.) Cibola’s Amber Battle lead the Cougars with 9 points before she fouled out. Elyse Brewster had 6 before she fouled out.

Rio Grande 49, Manzano 46

I did a double take; both Sanchez and Macias with only 11 apiece? Luckily Jocelyn Gamboa was able to put down 20 to help the Ravens get past the up-and-coming Manzano. Nice peformance from Lady Monarch Caroline Lantor, who lead her team with 15.

Next up for the Ravens is Kya DeGarmo and the Eldo squad. The Ravens need Sanchez, Macias and the rest of the squad to be in top form to have a chance at the might Lady Golden Eagles tonight.

Texico 37, Santa Rosa 35

Another close one for the Wolverines, senior guard Victoria Richards was able to lift Texico over the scrappy Lions on a three-point play.

The rest of the scores

Games to Watch

A quick rundown of games to watch:

Mayfield @ Las Cruces 7:00 PM

This is the fourth regular season meeting between these arch-rivals. Las Cruces has been able to hold off the Lady Trojans thus far, but Mayfield made a game of it in their last match-up.

Hatch Valley @ Socorro 5:30 PM

These two have split the regular season, each winning on their home court.

Cleveland @ Gallup 7:00 PM

Cleveland played them tough in their last match-up, Cleveland’s Latham and the rest of the Storm will really need to step it up to make this a game.

La Cueva @ Sandia 7:00 PM

Sandia, #3 in the state, takes on the always-relevant Bears.

Scores from Wednesday night

Games to Watch

Lots of good ones going into the district tournament championship games. From here on out, I don’t think you can go wrong–so get out and support your favorite team!

As far a games to watch, I spotted a trend from last year. Both of these match ups happened about the same time last year, and both were nothing short of major upsets. You can bet the two underdogs are hoping history repeats itself.

Texico hosts Santa Rosa @ 6:00 PM

Santa Rosa hasn’t bested the Lady Wolverines yet this year, but there is always a chance for the upset. You might remember that last year, Santa Rosa traveled to Texico and beat the Wolverines, 33-29, to win the district tournament.

Rio Grande host Manzano @ 7:00 PM

The big upset in last year’s District 5-5A tournament was Manzano winning over Rio Grande, and saw coach Rick Espinoza’s ejection from the game.

Losing by 40 to the Lady Ravens in the first match up this season, Manzano was able to close the point differential to 10 in their last meeting. I’m not sure if they’re slowing solving Rio Grande’s offense, but containing Bernadette Sanchez and Monique Macias is going to be a critical, and the most difficult, task for the Lady Monarch defense. Winner gets Eldorado in the district championship.

Gallup 65, Cibola 52

Meeting half-way in Grants last night, Gallup was able to get the win over Cibola for the District 1-5A tiebreaker.

Gallup got plenty of production from the bench with Paulette Coffey leading the way with 17 points. Justina Prairie Chief followed with 15. Cibola’s Clarissa Dominguez lead Cibola with 15.

Under former coach John Lomasney, Gallup was always team that was considered dangerous; under coach Kamau Turner, nothing has changed. Look for Gallup to end their days as a 5A team with a bang.

Cuba 47, Sandia Prep 24
Edorado 63, Manzano 39
Evangel Christian 50, Victory Christian 35
Pojoqaue 40, Santa Fe Indian 38
Estancia 62, Jemez Valley 53
Gallup Catholic 49, Menaul 44

Pink-out at Sandia

The Lady Matadors will be donning pink uniforms–a reward for raising the most money for breast cancer research–in tonight’s game against Albuquerque High. The uniforms were given to Sandia from Russell Athletics for raising over $6,000 for cancer research. Pick up today’s edition of the Albuquerque Journal to read more.

Games to Watch

Las Cruces hosts Mayfield @ 7:00 PM

I’ve got to pick this one as a game to watch…again. In the Las Cruces Sun-News article, coach Abney noted the ‘Dawgs weren’t playing as well as they normally do. I agree; in the three quarters of the Oñate-Cruces game I caught on Tuesday evening, the ‘Dawgs looked a little flat.

Whatever the ‘Dawgs’ state of mind, I think Mayfield has a good shot to make this a close game. This is their third match-up this season, and with a healthy, improving team, Mayfield will make this contest a great one.

Rio Grande’s Bernadette Sanchez racked up 26 points, Monique Macias had 25 against Manzano. They also brought along Jocelyn Gamboa to the score-fest; she had 17.

Haleigh Glass from Menaul: 19 points in Menaul’s loss to To’Hajiilee.

Las Cruces’ Devon Mulheron had 17 points and 10 rebounds; Jade Brown had 18 on the night against Mayfield.

Oñate’s Andrea Reiff and Cindy Burciaga had 17 points apiece against Alamogordo.

Tularosa’s Hannah Syling had 15 points against Mesilla Valley.

Scores from last night

Links

Alamogordo Daily News on Tularosa’s decisive win over Mesilla Valley

Chaves County Sports Report covers Roswell’s victory against Carlsbad

The Current-Argus’ side of the Carlsbad loss

Las Cruces Sun-News reports on the Las Cruces-Mayfield thriller

Gallup 72, Abq Academy 37
Hope Christian 55, West Mesa 41
Santa Rosa 65, Pecos 47
Socorro 56, St. Michaels 43
Peñasco 78, Dulce 61

Games to Watch

Las Cruces at Mayfield 7:00 PM

This game will be better than it appears on paper. Las Cruces head coach Matt Abney remarked that every time Mayfield plays a game, guard Elena Holguin gets that much better (she’s recovering from knee injury,) and I agree. A key piece of Mayfield’s defense, Sharice McWhorter who was just declared eligible, was injured Friday at Gadsden and will not play. That means much of the work under the basket falls squarely on Tiffani Lara’s shoulders.

Cruces, I think, is one of the most balanced teams in the state. The Dawgs are making it happen with Andrea Aragon at guard, and Jade Brown/Devon Mulheron at post. Brown may not have the height advantage in the paint, but her strength and determination make her a fierce competitor.

Mayfield will have to find consistency and find a way to score on every opportunity Las Cruces gives them.

Manzano at Rio Grande 7:00

I’m looking forward to see how #10 Manzano handles Rio Grande and their outside game.

Links

Las Cruces Sun-News covers the Mayfield-Cruces rivalry

Alamogorodo Daily News fills readers in on Lady Tigers game against Oñate

CCSR covers Lake Arthur’s fall to Hagerman

Rio Grande’s Monique Macias was off the hook, scoring 31 against Los Lunas; Bernadette Sanchez had 18. The game was called with 1:30 left to play due to a fight.

Las Cruces’ Andrea Aragon notched up 22 in the Bulldawg’s win over Alamogordo.

Sandia’s Ebony Walker had 24 against West Mesa in the Matador’s 61-26 win.

Magdalena Lady Steer Nicole Hardy scored 17 points against Tularosa.

Scores from last night

Las Cruces is now at 17-1 with their win against district foe Alamogordo.

Hobbs seems to be on a downward spiral, with a surprise loss against 4A Roswell.

A huge win for Des Moines (#2 Class 1A) over Clayton (#4 Class 2A).

Links

Sun-News covers the Oñate victory over Gadsden

ENMVarsity.com’s area roundup

Chaves County Sports Report recaps the Roswell victory over Hobbs.

Games to Watch

La Cueva hosts Valley: 7:00 PM

These 2-5A teams get their first taste of district play tonight. With La Cueva at 10-5 and Valley at 10-6, this game is a critical one.

Tularosa hosts Magdalena: 5:00 PM

Tonight’s match-up will be the third time these teams have met, with the series favoring Magdalena, 2-0. In spite of Tulrosa’s size and deep-bench advantage, the Lady Steers have stymied coach Saldevar and his squad.