PREP BASKETBALL
Clutch fourth quarter lifts Sandia past Cleveland
Senior guard Chloe Brown scored all 10 of her points in the final stanza
In a game where neither team led by more than seven points, championship experience may have made the difference for Sandia.
Senior guard Chloe Brown scored all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter, including five at the free throw line in the final minute, to help propel the No. 5 Matadors to a 47-42 victory over No. 12 Cleveland in a girls Class 5A first round game at Sandia on Friday night.
Brown was part of a balanced attack for Sandia (25-3), which got 13 points from Alasia Tenorio, 12 from Mikayla Hogan and nine from Kaiyah Benally to help the two-time defending champs hold off a scrappy Storm (12-17) squad.
“Chloe and Kaiyah are players that were part of these last two championship teams,” said Sandia coach Lee Kettig. “I think in moments like that, regardless of what has happened earlier … I think what you're going to see is that experience pay off when stuff gets super, super tense there at the end.”
The Matadors, who defeated Cleveland 60-50 during the regular season, struggled offensively early. After jumping out to an 8-3 lead, Sandia went cold while the Storm used a 9-1 run to take a 12-9 advantage in the second quarter. The first half was rarely pretty for either side, but Hogan scored the final four points to give Sandia a 15-12 edge heading into the locker room.
According to Kettig, Cleveland surprised his team by playing a 1-3-1 zone. Though the Matadors had their share of open looks, not much was falling in the first half.
“It took us a little while to figure out how to get those wide open shots, but once we settled in and we started to see it, we had wide open shots. It was just one of those nights that they weren't falling,” Kettig said.
While the second half featured five ties, Cleveland led only once — 18-17 with 5:50 left in the third quarter — as Sandia managed to stay a step ahead of its opponent. The Storm was still within 39-38 with 2:22 to play before the Matadors iced the game at the line.
Erin Winters paced Cleveland in scoring with 10 points.
