Prep hoops: Albuquerque Academy girls just keep on winning

A night of regret for Hope Christian, and a night to celebrate, kind of, for Albuquerque Academy.

Academy, Class 4A’s fourth-ranked girls basketball team, surely was nowhere near its best on this Tuesday night as the Chargers visited the second-place Huskies in a matchup of the top two teams in District 6-4A.

But Academy coach Josh Skarsgard framed it this way:

“Good teams win ugly,” he said.

Not only was Academy’s 38-33 victory a result that all but clinched the 6-4A regular-season crown for the Chargers (20-4, 6-0), but it extended Academy’s winning streak to 11 games.

“It was a big win for us,” said Academy freshman point guard Lily Skarsgard, who scored a team-best 17 points. “I think that even though we could have won by more, we came out with a win and that’s all that matters.”

Academy owns a two-game lead over ninth-ranked Hope (14-10, 4-2), and each has just two games left before the 6-4A tournament.

How the Chargers got there Tuesday was the interesting part.

Hope Christian had worked its way back from a deficit, tying the game at 30 by the end of the third quarter and even assuming a 33-30 lead on junior forward Mia Bishop’s short shot off the glass with 6:19 to go in the game.

Those were the final points for the Huskies, who missed 12 free throws in the game and countless bunnies underneath — this was not just a fourth-quarter issue — as they were swept in league play by Academy.

“We’ve shot the ball pretty well against everyone else. For whatever reason, there is this mental hurdle against them,” Hope coach Michael Cole said after his team dropped to 0-3 this season against Academy, including a loss at the Deming tournament.

The Chargers were hardly lighting the gym on fire themselves, but it was Academy that drained the buckets when they were most required.

Academy seized the lead for good, 34-33, with 4:46 left, on Melissa Purcella’s eight-foot jumper that took a fortuitous bounce. The Chargers had a four-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter themselves, but did bury four free throws, two by Skarsgard, in the final 55 seconds.

“They missed a bunch of layups, missed a bunch of free throws … we got lucky in that regard,” coach Skarsgard said. “It was not a pretty win, but with a district rival like this, you’ll take any win you can get.”

Hope’s Bishop sisters, as they have in most games, led the way in scoring. Mia Bishop scored 11 points and Bri Bishop had eight.

The Chargers, meanwhile, remain hot.

“To be 20-4 with a young team,” Josh Skarsgard said, “is a good place to be. I love where we’re at.”

His daughter took it a step further.

“Watch out for us in March,” Lily said. “We’re gonna go far. We have a chip on our shoulder. We lost in the first round of state the last two years (including last March as a six-seed) and we’re ready to rebound.”