Top four seeds win in 4A girls quarterfinals; Legacy Academy falls to Tucumcari

The top four seeds in the girls Class 4A state basketball tournament are also the last four standing.

No. 1 Kirtland Central, No. 2 Gallup, No. 3 Portales and No. 4 Valencia won quarterfinal games Tuesday at the Pit, setting up Thursday’s semifinals: Portales-Gallup (8 a.m.) and KC-Valencia (11:30 a.m.)

No. 4 VALENCIA 37, No. 5 ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY 34: The Jaguars (25-7) trailed 34-27 with 6:15 to go, but, led by a burst from junior guard Francesca Otero, scored the final 10 of the game and advanced to the semifinals for what is believed to be the first time in program history.

Melissa Purcella’s free throw for the Chargers had them seven in front. They didn’t score again.

Otero finished with 10 points, but she scored eight in a row at the most crucial part of the game, and the season, for Valencia.

She buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and following a Chargers turnover, Otero finished at the rim and Valencia was within two at 34-32.

“We just had to work possession by possession, and bring us back up,” Otero said.

After an Otero steal at midcourt moments later, she went down and scored off the glass, and was fouled. She completed the three-point play with 3:24 remaining for a 35-34 Valencia lead.

“She’s my second-hand man,” a beaming Valencia guard Jadyn Montoya said. Montoya, the Jaguars’ best player and leading scorer, had a rough morning, finishing with just two field goals and five points. “She picks me up.”

The Chargers scored just that single point over the final eight minutes. They were 0-of-9 from the floor in the fourth quarter.

“Basketball is a game of runs. We knew Valencia would make a late run,” Academy coach Josh Skarsgard said.

The Chargers (24-5) did establish a school record in victories this season, and they’ll bring back 10 of 12 players.

For Valencia, the Jags get a second look at Kirtland Central. The Broncos won 56-48 on Dec. 19.

“We really like the matchup,” coach Raymond Montoya said, adding, “We’re pretty much the same team across the board.”

Lily Skarsgard had 15 points to lead Academy. Addie Spratley, one of Academy’s top scorers, was hindered by foul trouble and finished with just three points.

Eden Montgomery had a team-best 11 points and eight rebounds for Valencia.

No. 3 PORTALES 38, No. 6 ST. PIUS 34: Senior forward Evannie Fuller was the asset the Rams leaned on Tuesday.

In a game Portales (20-9) was trailing 28-26 near the end of the third quarter, Fuller scored eight of her team’s next 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, sinking the chances for the Sartans (19-9).

“I just knew we needed something,” Fuller said. “... I just did what I do, and I shoot the ball. And I felt confident when I did that.”

She nailed a 3 from the near corner, a shot that bounced high off the front of the rim before falling, for a 29-28 lead just before the expiration of the quarter.

With Portales up 31-30, she canned a high-arcing 3 from in front of her bench. And moments later, Fuller also delivered a key offensive rebound off a missed 3, and put it back for a 36-32 lead with 3:26 to go,

Much like Valencia earlier in the day, St. Pius was hamstrung by a lengthy, fourth-quarter scoring drought. The Sartans trailed 34-32 with 5:55 remaining, but didn’t score another basket until there were only 24 seconds to go.

“There’s no excuse,” St. Pius coach Brio Rode said. “Our kids just didn’t take care of the ball.”

The Sartans committed 23 turnovers.

Catalina Anaya had a terrific game for the Sartans, scoring 21 points and adding nine rebounds and six steals.

Fuller had 13 points and nine rebounds (five of them offensive), both team bests, for Portales, which fell into a 10-2 hole early.

“St. Pius is a good team. They’ve got size, they’ve got speed, they’ve got really good guards, they play great defense. They came out and punched us in the mouth,” longtime Rams coach Wade Fraze said. “I was proud of my kids for just staying steady, and not taking plays off, and I think that was the difference in the game, just playing solid and steady.”

No. 2 GALLUP 58, No. 7 DEMING 38: The scoring drought theme continued in full bloom in this matchup. The Wildcats (21-8) went a whopping 12 minutes without a point in a disastrous first half, and the Bengals (28-2) had an easy time reaching the semifinals.

Deming scored a bucket at the 5:34 mark of the first quarter.

There was less than 90 seconds left in the first half before the Wildcats scored again, but by then, Gallup had gone on a 19-0 run, and the game was not in doubt from then on.

Rylie Whitehair had a double-double outing for Gallup, with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Summer Joe came off the bench to score 12 points, and the Bengals’ bench outscored Deming’s 24-3. The Wildcats also turned the ball over 31 times.

No. 1 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 58, No. 9 HOPE CHRISTIAN 18: The last of the quarters was the least competitive of the four, as the Broncos (27-3) took care of business and dispatched the Huskies (18-12).

Kirtland Central forced 34 turnovers, which would explain why it attempted 28 more shots than Hope.

Haylee Nocki led the way for the Broncos with 14 points. Allyson Tsosie added 12, and Zoey Benally 10 points and four assists.

It was 34-8 at halftime.

Class 3A and 2A

The higher seeds also won in Class 3A and 2A girls on Tuesday.

In 3A, the semifinal pairings are No. 1 Navajo Prep vs. No. 4 Robertson (8:15 p.m. Thursday, Rio Rancho Events Center) and No. 3 Santa Fe Indian School vs. No. 2 West Las Vegas (1:15 p.m. Thursday, RREC).

In 2A, the semifinal pairings are No. 1 Tatum vs. No. 5 Tucumcari (9:45 a.m. Thursday, RREC) and No. 3 Pecos vs. No. 2 Mesa Vista (4:45 p.m. Thursday, RREC).

No. 13 Legacy Academy, a surprise winner in the first round, was the only metro team to play in the smaller classes on Tuesday.

No. 5 TUCUMCARI 50, NO. 13 LEGACY ACADEMY 44: The Rattlers girls basketball program is heading into uncharted territory.

Caylee Benavidez (18 points), July Lafferty (14) and Cambree Benavidez (12) all scored in double figures as the Rattlers (23-7) held off a late charge from the Silverbacks (20-9) in a Class 2A quarterfinal at the Rio Rancho Events Center on Tuesday. It’s the first time Tucumcari has reached the state semifinals in girls basketball.

“I’m just emotional because it’s been a lot of hard work for us,” said head coach Patrick Benavidez. “We’ve had some good teams in the past, and these girls are just resilient. This has been our goal since these girls have been playing together in elementary school.”

Thanks to an 8-0 run to begin the third quarter and a 6-0 burst to start the fourth, the Rattlers enjoyed double-digit leads on a couple occasions in the second half. Both times, Legacy Academy fought back. The Silverbacks were led by senior guard Kayleigh Carrasco, who had a team high 17 points, including four 3-pointers.

Legacy Academy closed to within three points with 1:23 to play, but Lafferty hit a layup and a free throw to ice the game for the Rattlers.

“… My senior guards July Lafferty and Caylee Benavidez, they just held the team together,” Patrick Benavidez said. “With them handling the ball, we were just able to close out the game and then run some clock off.”

The Silverbacks, who were coming off an upset of No. 4 Jemez Valley in the opening round, also got 13 points and nine rebounds from Eden Griffis and eight points and 10 rebounds from Briley Boll.

“That’s one thing about our team is they don’t give up,” said Legacy coach Mike Heffron. “They believe in each other and they believe in themselves … And at the end, we fell a little short.”

— Tristen Critchfield