Rio Rancho girls get much-needed victory on a special night

RIO RANCHO – If anarchy is your preference, then look no further than the girls basketball teams who comprise District 1-5A.

There is not a single metro-based prep league with more quality traffic at the top of the standings than this one, boys or girls, and the race to the end of the regular season is sure to look like the three-wide sprint coming off the final turn at Daytona.

And it tightened even more Wednesday night.

Eighth-ranked Rio Rancho, playing at home, had runs of 14-0, 10-0 and two of 9-0, and a special “PINK OUT” matchup with rival Cleveland gradually turned into a second-half blowout, 72-44, for the Rams.

“We had to have this one,” said freshman guard Madi Martinez, who led the Rams with 23 points. “We dropped to 0-2 at the start of district, we knew every game from then out we had to win.”

This was a three-point game, 40-37, midway through the third quarter.

Then there was a 9-0 run for Rio Rancho (14-7, 3-2 in 1-5A). After a basket by the Storm (11-10, 3-2), the Rams rattled off another nine in a row.

Cleveland hit a long jumper, followed by 14 straight for the Rams. All totaled, it was 32-4 run.

The Rams lost to Farmington and Volcano Vista to open league play.

When Wednesday’s action began, Cleveland, Farmington and Volcano Vista were tied for first place at 3-1, with Rio Rancho looming a game back.

It was the Rams’ defense, which turned over Cleveland time and again, that led to the late separation.

Wednesday’s special fundraising effort, in which both teams wore pink, generated $2,030 for the Children’s Cancer Center Fund of New Mexico.

One of the Rams, senior point guard Ary Bustillos, is a cancer survivor. She was at the center of the postgame ceremony, and it moved her to tears.

“It was incredible,” Bustillos said. “I wanted to raise as much money as I could for all the kids who went through what I did.”

She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer as an eighth-grader. She had two surgeries to treat it, and “right now (I’m in) a monitoring stage.”

Bustillos’ teammates dedicated the game to her.

“We knew this game was for her,” Martinez said. “We wanted to play hard and leave it out there for her, and show her that we appreciate her and love her.”