Rio Rancho girls reach first 5A title game, will meet Hobbs

Since it opened, Rio Rancho High School has appeared in at least one state final in all of the major team sports — boys and girls — except this one.

The Rams finally and officially checked that box Thursday afternoon at the Pit.

Rio Rancho reached its first girls basketball state championship game with a victory over District 1-5A rival Volcano Vista, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, the Rams (27-4) will face Hobbs (28-2) for the 5A title.

The Eagles beat Albuquerque High in the early semifinal on Thursday morning. They did not face Rio Rancho in the regular season.

No. 3 RIO RANCHO 62, No. 10 VOLCANO VISTA 45: It was an emotional Rams coach Lori Mabrey who entered the press room, especially since Thursday would have been the 59th birthday of her late husband Buster. He died late in 2024, and Mabrey sat out the 2024-25 season due to her husband’s health issues.

She remains very much in mourning, 14-plus months later.

“I asked these girls to get this one for me today,” Mabrey said. “I am extremely grateful for these young women.”

Buster Mabrey was from Hobbs, adding another element to Saturday’s championship pairing.

“I think that Buster couldn’t have scripted it any better,” a tearful Mabrey said.

Sophomore guard Madi Martinez began to get loose in a decisive third quarter for Rio Rancho, which held a tenuous 29-26 lead at halftime thanks to Daysia Jack’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Martinez scored eight of her eventual game-best 23 points in the third quarter, many during a 12-2 run. At the end of the quarter, her sister, Larissa, and then Jack, nailed 3s to extend to a 49-33 lead for the Rams.

Jack displayed a deft shooting touch not often seen this season. She was 4-for-6 from the arc, and finished with 14 points.

“I always knew Daysia had that in her,” Mabrey said. “Early in the season, she just didn’t look for her shots.”

Observing Jack first-hand, Martinez had a thought in the second half:

“I knew I had to help her,” she said.

And the Hawks (18-14) couldn’t do much to stop one of 5A’s elite scoring guards once she began to assert herself.

“They got the ball in her hands, where it needs to be,” Volcano coach Lisa Villareal said.

The second half was in stark contrast to the first, which was tight. Rio Rancho led 18-10 early in the second quarter, only to see the Hawks answer with a 9-0 run, capped by Jalysa Hines’ 3-pointer.

The teams traded late 3s, with Janessa Botello hitting from deep for the Hawks just before Jack ended the half with her bomb.

Hines had 13 points and six rebounds to pace Volcano Vista.

No. 1 HOBBS 66, No. 4 ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 38: The Eagles only once since 2018 have failed to reach the 5A championship game, and on Thursday, they ended the Bulldogs’ best postseason run in 33 years.

“We’re not supposed to be here,” Hobbs coach Joe Carpenter said, referencing seven graduated seniors and a couple of injured players. “These kids deserve it.”

Hobbs (28-2) won its 19th straight game. Albuquerque High (26-4) had won 16 in a row since losing to the Eagles in the Jan. 10 finals of the Albuquerque Metro Championships.

Junior sharpshooter Kacelynn Muniez shot the Eagles into the lead with a 3-for-3 showing from the arc in the second quarter, when Hobbs opened up a 20-10 lead on AHS by halftime.

The lead was double digits the entire second half, even with the Bulldogs pressuring Hobbs up and down the floor and forcing Hobbs into 18 turnovers.

Carpenter believed his team had a matchup edge inside, especially since AHS’ best paint player, senior Savannah Combs, tore her ACL since the teams last squared off at metros. But that edge didn’t materialize the way Carpenter envisioned. So he pivoted.

“We went with a smaller lineup, and I thought we would have an advantage there, and finally we found one,” Carpenter said.

To that end, one of Hobbs’ smallest players, 5-foot-2 senior point guard Matysen Zepeda, was sensational for the Eagles on Thursday. Zepeda, challenged by Carpenter before the game to be more productive, was 7-of-14 from the field, and scored a team-best 21 points. She also grabbed six rebounds.

Muniez finished with 14 points, and was a nifty 4-for-5 from the arc where she consistently has been perhaps the most dangerous and effective 3-point specialist in 5A this season. Xoey Ross scored 13 points with six rebounds.

Freshman guard Abby Pavia of Albuquerque High had one of her most frustrating days of the season. She finished with a team-best 15 points, but 11 of those points came at the line. Pavia was just 2-for-23 from the field.

“It was a little hard for her today, I guess,” Zepeda said.

As a team, Albuquerque High was 11-for-52 (21.2%) and often was limited to a single possession as Hobbs dominated on the boards (46-28).

“You can’t come to the Pit and shoot 21%,” Bulldogs coach Teri Morrison said.