Gallup girls top Kirtland Central to win 4A basketball crown

Thinking back five weeks, inside a packed Gallup High School gymnasium, a night like this one seemed improbable.

The Bengals that evening were playing host to Kirtland Central, and the Broncos were having their way with Gallup to the point that fans, by the dozens, began leaving their seats for the parking lot early in the fourth quarter.

On the penultimate night of the prep season, Kirtland Central and Gallup shared a floor again.

None of those Bengals fans left early this time.

Kirtland Central might have been the regular season queen, but No. 2 Gallup proved that living large in the postseason is the best revenge. The Bengals captured the Class 4A girls state basketball championship on Friday night, beating No. 1 Kirtland Central 51-41 before a boisterous crowd of about 13,000 at the Pit.

“It’s a great experience, when us and Kirtland get together,” Gallup coach Todd McBroom said. “It makes for a great environment, it doesn’t matter if it’s our place or here at the Pit, but it’s fun to play in those games.”

The Bengals (30-2) were the more effective team at both ends in this highly anticipated championship game, as the program won another title in an odd-numbered year, following triumphs in 2021 and 2023.

“It was a very great win, an exciting win,” said senior post Rylie Whitehair, who led the way with 17 points and 12 rebounds, both team bests. “This is my second time winning state, and I knew that this is my last year and I had to put everything into it.”

Her teammates chanted “M-V-P” at Whitehair as she entered the media room following the game, but all of the Bengals had a hand in this.

“Gallup was just better than us tonight,” Kirtland Central coach Devon Manning said after his team was unable to win a second straight championship. “That’s all it comes down to.”

The Broncos (28-4) won both district games, including a 25-point victory on the road at Gallup. But the Bengals won at Kirtland Central in the District 1-4A tournament final just prior to the state tournament brackets being released.

“You have to constantly be evolving,” McBroom said. “If you do the same thing over and over, it’s not smart. You have to make sure you’re constantly evolving. If you don’t, it’s hard to beat them.”

The first quarter portended wonderful things for an energetic crowd that just about filled the entire lower bowl at the Pit.

There were seven lead changes in that quarter alone, and Gallup led early 14-11. But already Manning was concerned. In that first quarter, Gallup, which had a distinct size advantage due to Whitehair and sophomore Kayden Tsosie, had more offensive rebounds (nine) than the Broncos had defensive rebounds (eight). Their size and rebounding was a major thorn for Kirtland Central throughout and led to multiple Gallup possessions with multiple shot attempts.

Still, Kirtland rebounded, and led 22-21 at halftime. In the third quarter, it was an off-balance 12-footer from Gallup’s Payton Johnson that put the Bengals ahead for good at 32-31. They carried a 39-35 lead to the fourth quarter.

And that lead quickly swelled to 43-35 on a bucket by Alysha Slinkey. Then Tsosie delivered a huge 3 for a 46-35 edge with just under five minutes to go. Manning, watching from the other side of the gym, put his hands on his head even before Tsosie released the shot.

Tsosie finished with 12 points and eight boards.

“I knew that I had to help Rylie, because Kirtland knew that she was gonna have a big game tonight,” Tsosie said. “What I wanted to do was help her at the defensive end.”

The Gallup defense, meanwhile, was terrific.

“They played fantastic,” McBroom said. “That was our best defensive effort of the year. When they got by us, we had people at the rim, protecting, changing shots. Total team effort at the defensive end.”

The Broncos didn’t shoot it well Friday, going 29.2% (14-for-48) from the field and just 3-for-18 from the arc.

Two of Kirtland’s standouts, Allyson Tsosie and Elaina Clani, both had poor shooting performances.

Zoey Benally led the Broncos with 10 points.

Gallup defeats Kirtland Central to win the girls 4A title: Photos