Kirtland Central's girls win opening round against Gallup

KIRTLAND, N.M. — They were lined up, more than five hours before it began, waiting for a particular 32 minutes.

And this was just the first taste. An appetizer.

“I’m hoping five total,” said Todd McBroom, the head girls basketball coach at Gallup High School. “That’s the goal now that we lost the first one.”

Gallup on Saturday, like Sandia earlier this month at the Albuquerque metro tournament, was dealt its first loss of the season at the hands of the Kirtland Central Broncos.

With an energetic crowd of 3,500 fans filling a jam-packed Kirtland gym, the Broncos, the No. 2-ranked team in Class 4A (by the coaches), led for just about every second of the game, taking down the top-ranked Bengals 52-38 in a District 1-4A showdown.

This rare afternoon start had fans congregating at the Kirtland gym before noon, for a game that didn’t finally tip off until 4:45 p.m.

“It felt like a state championship game,” said junior guard Haylee Nocki, who buried five 3-pointers and scored a game-best 21 points for the Broncos.

Nobody got the scintillating matchup that might have been expected between these two powers, but McBroom’s words were a soothing observation that more — maybe much more — is ahead for this dynamite duo.

“This game,” said his counterpart, Kirtland Central coach Devon Manning, “it’s good to celebrate, but we have to move on.”

Indeed, there is a road game at Gallup two Saturdays from now for the Broncos. They could also meet twice in the district tournament, if the Bengals get payback on Feb. 8. And, of course, these two appear on a collision course to square off in the Pit in the middle of March.

By the MaxPreps.com overall rankings, Kirtland Central (16-2, 2-0 in 1-4A) and Gallup (17-1, 1-1) are rated ahead of every girls basketball team that is not named Hobbs or Sandia (the two top teams in 5A).

Kirtland Central played both at metros, two of the eight 5A programs Manning’s young group has faced in a deliberate, strategic blueprint.

“This was a game we wanted to prepare for and that’s what our schedule did,” he said. The Broncos went 6-2 in those eight, losing to Rio Rancho and Hobbs.

“Not gonna be anything now these girls haven’t seen,” Manning said. “We’ve faced the best guards in the state, we just faced some of the best bigs in the state. There’s nothing these girls won’t be prepared for.”

This was especially true as Saturday’s game entered the fourth quarter.

Kirtland Central’s defense turned Gallup over like crazy the whole way (24 in total for the Bengals), and this led to countless easy looks at the other end.

McBroom calculated the turnovers led to 26 Kirtland Central points.

“You give up easy buckets like we were,” he said plainly, “you’re not gonna win.”

But he credited the Broncos defense, which is quick and pesky and relentless, for creating the issues.

“They do what they do, and they do it well,” McBroom said.

This was a problem for Gallup right from the start. The Bengals had 11 turnovers at halftime and were down 10 at the break. Kirtland Central, unofficially, attempted 12 more shots in the first three quarters than did Gallup.

Not that Gallup didn’t make a push. It did. The Bengals, who were shooting free throws early in the fourth quarter, got within five at 39-34 with 4½ minutes to go, as Kirtland Central missed its first seven field-goal attempts in the quarter.

But at the other end, sophomore Elaina Clani kicked it out to the corner to Nocki, who buried a critical 3, and the Bengals’ momentum was squashed and not to be regained.

“When she passed it to me, I was ready to shoot,” said Nocki, who was 5-for-9 from behind the arc. “And when I heard the crowd, it was amazing.”

Gallup had not in any of its 17 victories — including three versus 5A opponents — faced adversity anywhere near the level the Bengals faced on Saturday, McBroom said. He noted that one of his standout guards, Alysha Slinkey, didn’t play, and was missed.

“She’ll make a huge difference,” he said.

Rylie Whitehair led Gallup in scoring with 14 points. The team’s 38 points was by far a season low. The team’s previous low was 56, twice, one of those coming against 5A Albuquerque High.

When the Bengals host Kirtland Central in two weeks, a night game, there will be similar lines to get into the Gallup gym.

“This is round one,” McBroom said coyly.

But with Kirtland Central now having another marquee victory, the Broncos have the late January edge.

“I don’t think this was particularly our best game of the year,” Manning said, “but the way these girls fought tonight was pretty awesome.”

He added: “I can’t complain. These girls played their butts off.”

Thousands cheer Kirtland Central's win over Gallup: Photos