4A girls: Kirtland Central and Gallup rally late to win semifinal matchups

It’s the matchup that seemed destined to occur since the season began as Class 4A’s top-seed, Kirtland Central, and second-seeded Gallup both survived significant scares in Thursday’s semifinals and will meet in Friday’s championship at 7 p.m. at the Pit.

The district rivals, whose only losses in their classification have come against each other, have traded winning the title the last four seasons, with the Broncos the current defending champion.

“We feel good. But we didn’t come here to just be in the game,” Kirtland Central coach Devon Manning said. “We know we have a very tall task in front of us. There is not a whole lot we can do. They know what we’re trying to do, we know what they’re trying to do. It’s going to be a fun game.”

No. 1 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 51, No. 4 VALENCIA 38: Midway through the third quarter, the Jaguars held a double-digit lead and the Broncos (27-3) looked to be in complete disarray.

But a 15-3 surge to close the quarter tied it and Akeelah Joe opened up the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer to give Kirtland Central its first lead of the game.

Although Valencia recovered with a couple of buckets, the Broncos smelled weakness and pounced, closing the game on a 17-3 run, with 10 of those points coming from the foul line.

“They threw us off a little bit but once we figured out where some of the holes were, the girls took advantage of it,” Manning said. “We got some timely steals in there and I think that threw them off a little bit, especially in the fourth quarter when we went back to our zone press type deal. I think that took them out of their rhythm.”

Valencia looked strong early, starting the game with a 3-pointer from Jadyn Montoya, who finished with 18.

Although the game was tied at 9-all after the first quarter, the Jaguars used a 9-1 run to open up a little advantage, with Savannah Saavedra scoring 10 of the team’s first 18 points.

Valencia coach Raymond Montoya credits a wrinkle he picked up from scouting the Broncos quarterfinal game against Hope Christian.

“Seeing Hope have a little bit of success, slow them down — not for long — but slowing them down using that same 3-2,” he said. “Kudos to the girls. We haven’t used the 3-2 all year. We’ve never practiced it. They saw the way Hope kind of slowed them and we thought our length could be advantageous in the same zone. And our girls are really smart and figured it out quick. So that was great to see.”

Valencia built its lead to 24-14 at halftime, then 28-16 in the third before the roof fell in.

“They’re long on the top and the girls got flustered a little bit,” Manning said. “When they get flustered, they think they need to go make a play right now. We were taking some pretty bad shots and I think halftime really did help them to settle down.”

Then it was a matter of turning up the press, in large part through Allyson Tsosie who had a rare double-double with 13 points and 11 steals.

“It’s really a toss up when you’re that close going into the fourth quarter and the girls just dug deep defensively,” Manning said. “Again, it was all about the defense because our offense just wasn’t clicking at all, until really the middle of the third quarter on.”

No. 2 GALLUP 69, No. 3 PORTALES 66: A 12-1 run early in the fourth quarter finally helped the Bengals (29-2) put away the pesky Rams (20-10).

After Portales sharpshooter Evannie Fuller nailed a 3-pointer to put the Rams up 55-52, Gallup exploded with a defensive clamp down and drives to the basket. Kayden Tsosie contributed two steals and subsequent fast-break layups and Rylie Whitehair hit a bucket as well as three foul shots.

“Early on I thought we missed some layups and some things like that. We had steals and we had that run and that makes a huge difference,” Gallup coach Todd McBroom said. “But the ball just bounced out way.”

Tsosie finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, along with four assists and three steals, while Whitehair controlled the paint with 25 points and 10 boards, along with three blocks.

“They were throwing two-three kids on the inside sometimes and we still found a way to finish,” McBroom said. “When you get to this point, there are no easy games. It’s just what it is. The girls grinded out a win.”

Fuller also had a standout game, finishing with six 3-pointers and 23 points, as well 10 rebounds and five assists.

But McBroom told his team it had to turn up the pressure and the Bengals quickness was a constant thorn as they finished with 17 steals and forced 25 turnovers.

“I told the girls that if you want to win, you have to get stops and that’s what it comes down to,” he said. “We made a few adjustments and that was the difference. We gave up 41 points in the first half and that’s terrible. We can’t do that.”

Portales also got 13 points from Angel Ornelas and Rams coach Wade Fraze said his squad put up a valiant effort.

“Gallup, they’ve got three players bigger than anybody we’ve got,” he said. “If you let them run over you, they’re going to. These kids have no backup in them. Big, small, fast or slow, there’s no backup in these kids. We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We wanted to force them into doing some things maybe they weren’t used to doing. And I don’t think anybody gave us a shot except for us.”