Kirtland Central, Gallup to clash again for 4A crown at the Pit

Kirtland Central and Gallup are going to square off for a fourth time this season — and more importantly, for the fourth time in a championship game since 2011.

The top-seeded Broncos and second-seeded Bengals will play in the Class 4A title game on Friday at 7 p.m at the Pit. Kirtland won the season series 2-1, beating Gallup by 25 and 42 points in two regular-season meetings. The Bengals got revenge in the District 1-4A championship with a 49-41 triumph.

While Kirtland will be attempting to win its 22nd blue trophy in girls basketball, none of those have come against Gallup. The teams have met three times in title games since 2011, and the Bengals have won all three — most recently in 2025 and 2023.

“We're just excited to be there,” said Kirtland coach Devon Manning. “We understand how hard it is to play in the last game.”

No. 1 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 61, No. 4 HOPE CHRISTIAN 38: For the Broncos, the early second half is often an ideal time to go for the kill.

Such was the case in their semifinal matchup with the Huskies (25-7). After Kirtland (28-3) closed out the second quarter with a 6-0 run to go up 29-19, the Broncos essentially put the game away by scoring the first 11 points of the second half. At that point, it was 40-19, and Hope faced an uphill climb to get within striking distance. The Huskies would get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way.

“We thought their legs were giving out a little bit,” said Kirtland coach Devon Manning. “… Because they take a little bit of a break at halftime, the legs relax. And so that's where we were really trying to get that separation.”

It was a balanced attack for the Broncos, with four players — Elaina Clani (13 points), Allyson Tsosie (12), Haylee Nocki (12) and Zoey Benally (10) — reaching double figures. A fourth Bronco, Krista Tsingine-Yazzie, chipped in nine points.

“We just kept moving the ball and tried to look for the open shots and just play with each other,” Nocki said. “We know each other out there.”

Kirtland achieved a similar balance on defense, with seven players accounting for 29 steals. Tsosie led the way in that category with five. All told, the Broncos scored 33 points off Hope turnovers.

Hope started well, taking an 8-3 lead behind a pair of 3s from Bri Bishop, who finished with a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds. The Huskies were still hanging around, down 23-19 late in the second quarter before that late 6-0 Broncos run seemed to signal a permanent shift in momentum.

“I think when something like that happens, it kind of deflates the other team,” Manning said.

No. 2 GALLUP 54, No. 3 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY:  The Bengals (27-4) showcased a little bit of championship composure to hold off the Chargers (25-6).

Down 27-21 at halftime, Gallup outscored Academy by 16 points over the final two quarters to advance to the 4A title game for the second consecutive season.

“I told the girls, every time you get up here to Albuquerque, it's never easy. You've got to earn your way in,” said Bengals coach Todd McBroom. “Two years in a row we've been really pushed in the semifinal game. I'm proud of the girls.”

Ball security was critical to Gallup’s success. The Bengals had just seven turnovers compared to 22 for the Chargers. That was especially key in the fourth quarter, when Academy scored just five points and matched Gallup’s turnover total for the game.

“That's championship basketball,” McBroom said. “I was telling them we’ve got to keep it at 10 (turnovers) and under. Let's face it, a lot of my kids have been here, done that before. And so that experience helps.”

Despite dealing with some early foul trouble, Mykeia Vicenti led the Bengals with 13 points and a game-high five steals. The junior point guard also exited the game in the third quarter when she landed hard on her hip following a foul. At that point, the score was tied at 37-37.

Gallup took the lead for good on a corner 3 by Payton Johnson at the end of the third quarter. Vicenti returned shortly thereafter to give her team a boost with a pair of transition layups to extend the margin to 47-40.

“The recovery was really hard,” Vicenti said. “It's still hurting pretty bad, but I couldn't give up on my team. I had to fight through the pain.”

Academy closed to within 47-43 on a three-point play from Lily Skarsgard with 2:38 to play, but that was as close as the Chargers would get. Gallup ended the game on a 7-1 run, scoring all of its points at the charity stripe.

Skarsgard appeared to be fully recovered from an ankle injury suffered in the quarterfinals, as she finished with a game-high 15 points for the Chargers while playing a little more than 30 minutes. Addie Spratley added 12 points for Academy, and 6-foot-6 post Harper Dunn finished with eight points, 15 rebounds and nine blocks.

Johnson and Kayden Tsosie also reached double figures for Gallup with 12 points apiece.