NMAA girls state basketball tournament: first-round scores and summaries

Class 5A

—> (1) Hobbs 59, (16) Piedra Vista 19

At Ralph Tasker Arena, Xoey Ross had 14 points, four rebounds and eight steals to help top-seeded Hobbs (26-2) rout visiting Piedra Vista (10-18). Kareli Rivera added eight points and six steals for the Eagles.

—> (9) La Cueva 56, (8) Las Cruces 36

In Las Cruces, the Bears (18-10) scored the game’s first nine points and never looked back as they topped the Lady Bulldawgs (20-9).

Senior guard Jordyn Dyer led La Cueva with 21 points, but was heavily involved throughout in other categories like rebounds, steals and assists. Paz Romero added 13 points for the Bears.

—> (5) Sandia 47, (12) Cleveland 42

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 Matadors over Cleveland.

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.”

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.

Read the full game story.

— Tristen Critchfield, for the Journal

—> (4) Albuquerque High 50, (13) Santa Fe 25

At Bulldog City, freshman guard Abby Pavia led the way with 21 points as the Bulldogs (25-3) punched their ticket to the Pit in Week 2 with a dominating victory over the Demons (18-12).

Lailah Bouldin added 12 points for AHS, which forced Santa Fe into 20-plus turnovers.

—> (3) Rio Rancho 65, (14) Clovis 37

In Rio Rancho, the third-seeded Rams rode a big second quarter to a decisive win over No. 14 Clovis in the opening round of the 5A girls tournament.

Leading 11-8 after a back-and-forth first quarter, Rio Rancho (25-4) uncorked 23 in the second to take a commanding 34-19 halftime lead. The Rams went on to hold Clovis scoreless four-and-a-half minutes into the second half, all but assuring another game for the District 1-5A champs.

Madi Martinez, Rio Rancho’s star sophomore guard, keyed the Rams with a game-high 25 points, overcoming a quiet first quarter to score 11 in the game-swinging second. Daysia Jackson and Lilly Martinez – Madi’s sister – added 15 and 6 points, respectively.

Bryna Petrev led Clovis (13-16) with 10 points, scoring six in the second quarter.

— Sean Reider, Journal sports writer

—> (6) Los Lunas 63, (11) Mayfield 33

A dominant second half carried No. 6 Los Lunas (24-5) to a victory over No. 11 Mayfield (16-12) in the first round of the 5A state playoffs.

The Trojans were only down 22-20 at the half and in position to beat the Tigers for the second time this season.

However, Los Lunas quickly took control in the third quarter, outscoring Mayfield 41-13 the rest of the way.

“We cut out all the mistakes in the second half–and that was it,” said Los Lunas coach Manny Vigil.

Leading the charge was sophomore post Kayla Finley, who finished with 35 points to reach 1000 points for her career. Vayda Golino, who has played through a knee injury, started for the first time this season.

“Her and Grace Baca’s leadership was unbelievable,” Vigil said.

Ceanna McKines led Mayfield with 22 points.

Tuesday, the Tigers meet No. 3 Rio Rancho in the 5A quarterfinals in the Pit.

— Mike Powers, VCNB sports writer

—> (10) Volcano Vista 45, (7) Centennial 36

In Las Cruces, Volcano Vista (17-13) picked up one of its best wins of the season as it upset Centennial (20-8) in the first round.

Jalysa Hines had 14 points and four steals to lead Volcano. Micaela Herrera added six rebounds, and she was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

(2) Farmington 68, (15) Eldorado 33

Class 4A

(1) Kirtland Central 61, (16) Goddard 40

(9) Lovington 41, (8) Portales 40

—> (5) Valencia 43, (12) St. Pius 40

Valencia (22-6) defeated District 5-4 rival St. Pius (13-15) for the third time this season, but the 4A first round game wasn’t decided until the final seconds.

St. Pius used a patient attack, combined with some sloppy play by Valencia, to build an 11-3 lead midway through the second quarter and a 11-9 advantage at the break.

“Their pressure kind of messed with us,” said Valencia coach Raymond Montoya.

Sartans eighth-grader Amiyah Cunningham, who had 21 points, made a spectacular one-handed hook shot to end the third quarter, putting St. Pius up 25-18.

From there, Valencia slowly found its rhythm, with a three-pointer by Naima Corrales putting the Jaguars in front 26-25. With increased intensity, Corrales and Francisca Otero, who combined for 27 points, scored off turnovers to pad the lead.

Valencia pulled in front 38-30 and hung on for the three-point win.

“Just excited to get out with the win, but they made us work for it,” Montoya said.

Valencia heads to the Pit for a Tuesday 4A quarterfinal matchup against Hope Christian.

— Mike Powers, VCNB sports writer

—> (4) Hope Christian 47, (13) Grants 25

At Hope Christian, Mia Bishop scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half, and added 14 rebounds as the fourth-ranked Huskies (24-6) defeated No. 13 Grants 47-25.

—> (3) ABQ Academy 48, (14) Española Valley 20

Harper Dunn scored 16 points for the host Chargers (24-5) and dominated the paint, while Addie Spratley added 10 points in a dominating win. Averi Schultz led the Sundevils with five points. 

Dunn, the 6-foot, 6-inch transfer from Corona, towered over the Sundevils, whose tallest player checked in at 5-7. 

“I think Española is really young, and they don’t have a lot of size, so we were trying to take advantage of our size,” said Academy coach Joshua Skarsgard. “So that might have played into the mental makeup. But yeah, we were trying to hammer the paint early.” 

The Sundevils (18-11) fell behind 15-3 in the first quarter as they were consistently bothered by the Chargers press. 

Española was unable to score in the second quarter and Academy went up 33-3. 

“We told the girls we don’t want them to hang around, because if you give a team confidence, it makes it really hard on you,” Skarsgard said. “So we’re a big fan of first quarters. Got to be really assertive.” 

Academy was originally scheduled to play rival St. Pius as the 14th seed, while Española was the 11th seed and was set to meet No. 6 Bernalillo until the brackets were redone on Tuesday because of a seeding error.

— Glen Rosales, for the Journal

—> (11) Shiprock 53, (6) Bernalillo 45

At Bernalillo, the Spartans had everything going their way early, and led by 13, but it unraveled over the final three quarters as the Lady Chieftains steadied themselves, rallied and eventually pulled away.

“We calmed down, we got the emotions out,” Shiprock coach Robert McCaskill said of an awful first quarter. “And then we just started to play. Soon as they calmed down, they were fine.”

Shiprock (16-13) had four points and eight turnovers in a sloppy first quarter. Bernalillo (23-6) went on a 15-0 run that lasted most of the final six minutes of that quarter, a run that began with a 3-pointer from freshman Jillian Lovato and ended on another 3 by Rayann Downing.

It was the Lady Chieftains’ perimeter shooting that got them back into the game. Abbagaile  McDonald knocked down a pair of 3s – five different Shiprock players hit at least one 3-pointer in this game – and Tegan Howe later added one as the Lady Chieftains went on a 12-0 run for a 21-20 lead.

Read the full game story

— James Yodice, Journal staff writer

—> (7) Silver 53, (10) Highland 47

In Silver City, the seventh-seeded Colts (22-6) led by 18 at halftime over No. 10 Highland (18-12) and held off the Hornets 53-47.

(2) Gallup 68, (15) Pojoaque Valley 38

Class 3A

(1) Navajo Prep 73, (16) Zuni 35

(8) Tohatchi 59, (9) East Mountain 34

(5) Cobre 66, (12) Ruidoso 51

(4) Dexter 38, (13) St. Michael’s 35

(3) Robertson 47, (14) West Las Vegas 25

(6) Crownpoint 52, (11) Tularosa 39

(7) Newcomb 73, (10) Sandia Prep 44

(2) Santa Fe Indian 53, (15) N.M. Military Institute 17

Class 2A

(1) Mesa Vista 62, (16) Hozho Academy 31

(9) Jal 48, (8) McCurdy 41

(5) Clayton 58, (12) Tucumcari 14

(4) Laguna-Acoma 51, (13) Legacy Academy 34

(3) Tatum 61, (14) Eunice 38

(6) Santa Rosa 47, (11) Pecos 46

(7) Peñasco 59, (10) Lordsburg 53

(2) Texico 64, (15) Ramah 22

Class 1A

(1) Logan 68, (16) Cimarron 55

(9) Melrose 59, (8) Springer 48

(5) To’hajiilee 65, (12) Dora 61

(4) Fort Sumner/House 53, (13) Alamo Navajo 36

(3) Roy/Mosquero 54, (14) Reserve 14

(6) Quemado 46, (11) Elida 44

(10) Des Moines 53, (7) Magdalena 50

(2) Cliff 62, (15) Pine Hill 29