A nice road win for 4A's third-ranked girls from Valencia

The dialogue will continue outside of the cities of Kirtland and Gallup.

And it will go on, perhaps even loudly, on the campus of Valencia High School. This is a Class 4A girls basketball team that hopes to elbow its way into the final weekend of the season, even with two substantial obstacles standing in its way.

“We’re excited to get to March and really see where we stack up with them,” Jaguars coach Raymond Montoya said.

Valencia is the highest-ranked 4A team in the metro area, and only Kirtland Central and Gallup are ranked higher than the Jaguars in the latest coaches’ poll.

Tuesday night, Valencia faced what is sure to be its toughest test inside District 5-4A, that being St. Pius, and the Jags (14-5, 2-0) led the entire way in a 41-31 victory over the sixth-ranked Sartans (12-7, 2-1).

“This could be our year,” said Valencia’s standout combo guard Jadyn Montoya, who is not related to her coach. “But I don’t think we’ve hit our peak yet.”

Montoya on Tuesday served an excellent example of why Valencia has such grand ambitions.

She came into the game averaging 17 points a game, third best in the division.

She was limited to six points by St. Pius, and yet Valencia still was in control throughout.

Junior point guard Francesca Otero handled the ball almost exclusively, and she finished with 13 points even playing through foul trouble.

“We’re lucky to have guards like Jadyn and Fran who can completely control the game,” coach Montoya said.

Valencia was up 11 early in the second quarter, 16-5, after a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper by junior forward Jaiden Montgomery, who had a team-best 16 points.

The Sartans were hamstrung time and again by their inability to finish around the basket. They missed one layup after another in those opening two quarters, and in fact St. Pius coach Brio Rode said for the 32 minutes, St. Pius missed out on 52 points due to 26 total missed bunnies.

“That’s on us,” Rode said. “Our growth has to come, and we have to own it. … We get into high pressure situations, we’re a little bit slower than we should be.”

This was one half of the equation. The other was facing a team with veteran guards, who were steadfast throughout and didn’t allow Valencia to relinquish the lead.

“I think a big key was to keep our composure through the whole thing,” Jadyn Montoya said.

The Jaguars led 22-10 at halftime, 25-12 early in the third quarter.

However, both Otero and Montoya collected their third fouls within seconds of each other midway through the third quarter. Otero stayed on the floor, Montoya was removed.

But not for long.

After the Sartans quickly rattled off six straight to cut the deficit to six at 25-19 with 3:06 to go in the third, coach Montoya called timeout.

And Jadyn Montoya re-entered.

“The second I came out, I told him, I’m good, no more fouls. He let me sit for a second, and then he was like, OK, go back,” Montoya said.

Said coach Montoya: “A guard like Jadyn, she’s so smart, she’s one of the smartest kids I’ve ever coached, and I know I can trust her in those moments.”

Her return was a steadying presence for Valencia which took a nine-point lead (28-19) to the fourth quarter.

St. Pius persisted. The Sartans were within six on several occasions, and even pulled within four at 35-31 with 2:25 to go on a layup by Jaylin Olloway.

Coming out of a timeout, Valencia set up a play and executed it brilliantly, as Otero, cutting to the basket, scored from close range, was fouled, and completed the three-point play for a 38-31 edge with 2:08 left.

“For us to step up and take one on the road, that’s huge,” coach Montoya said.