4A-1A girls state basketball roundup: Deming, Dora, Corona/Vaughn upset winners
Mar. 8—Deming, Dora and the Corona/Vaughn co-op were the three upset winners Friday night as the New Mexico high school girls state basketball tournament tipped off.
The Wildcats went into Albuquerque Academy and ousted the Chargers 56-35 in the Class 4A first round. Corona/Vaughn and Dora advanced in Class 1A.
Sandia Prep in Class 3A suffered a tough 41-40 loss at Zuni. Menaul in Class 2A won on Friday, so the Panthers will play in Week 2.
CLASS 4A: Two of the three metro-area teams at home on Friday posted victories on Friday. The best of the first-round games was at Valencia, where the eighth-seeded Jaguars eliminated No. 9 Lovington 55-52 in overtime.
Valencia plays No. 1 Kirtland Central in Tuesday's quarterfinals at the Pit; the Broncos routed district rival Aztec 57-25 on Friday.
No. 2 St. Pius is in the quarterfinals after the Sartans easily defeated No. 15 Española Valley 59-29 on the West Side.
Catalina Anaya had 18 points and seven steals for St. Pius (24-3), which takes on No. 7 Bloomfield on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. Alyssa Maes scored 17 points for St. Pius.
The Sartans defeated Bloomfield by 20 points in the title game of the Hope Christian tournament on Jan. 20. Tuesday's rematch is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at the Pit.
Most of the top seeds, including No. 3 Artesia and No. 4 Gallup, won comfortably on Friday night. Deming, following its upset, takes on Artesia in the quarterfinals. Portales plays Gallup in the fourth 4A quarterfinal. The Rams eliminated No. 12 Hope Christian, 63-38.
CLASS 2A: At Menaul, three players scored in double figures and the fifth-seeded Panthers (22-4) improved to 4-0 against No. 12 seed Estancia (18-9) with a 39-30 victory on Friday.
While Menaul enjoyed multiple double-digit leads against its District 2-2A rival, the Panthers could never breathe easily, either. Based on the regular season history between the two teams, that's pretty much par for the course.
"They play really, really hard," said Menaul coach Felicia Boatman. "We just wanted to withstand the runs. That was our goal ... because we knew they weren't gonna back down."
The Panthers led by 10 at the half, by 14 in the third quarter and were up 12 with a little more than five minutes to play, but each time Estancia responded. The Bears' last serious threat was a 6-0 fourth quarter run that culminated in a 3-pointer from Jhenna Valencia to cut the deficit to 34-28 with 2:20 remaining. Valencia finished with a game-high 13 points — including 11 in the second half.
From there, however, Charli Boatman converted on five of six attempts at the foul line and Menaul's defense tightened down the stretch to ice the victory.
Blanca Riera paced Menaul with 11 points, while Charli Boatman and Mikayla Sierra chipped in 10 apiece for the Panthers.
"This group of seniors are really special," Felicia Boatman said. "They've worked together to get where we need to be. I think we're a little underestimated, but I'm OK flying under the radar. At the beginning of the season, I told them we're a top five team in the state, but no one's going to know it until it's time."
All of the top eight seeds won their home games Friday in 2A.
— Tristen Critchfield
ALSO FRIDAY: Seven of the top eight seeds in Class 3A won by double digits, led by No. 1 Tohatchi and No. 2 Robertson. Zuni-Sandia Prep was the only one of the eight games Friday to go down to the wire. ... In Class 1A, No. 9 Corona/Vaughn defeated No. 8 Quemado 46-34, and Dora, the 10 seed, took out No. 7 Melrose 49-44. Both of the top two seeds in 1A, Roy/Mosquero and Cliff, had extremely close calls Friday, winning by a combined seven points.
Scores and schedules
CLASS 5A
First Round — Friday
(1) Hobbs 68, (16) Las Cruces 29
(8) La Cueva 66, (9) Rio Rancho 50
(5) Mayfield 31, (12) Clovis 28
(4) Volcano Vista 75, (13) Cleveland 47
(3) Farmington 75, (14) Los Lunas 45
(6) Organ Mountain 51, (11) Carlsbad 47
(7) Eldorado 54, (10) Albuquerque High 36
(2) Sandia 84, (15) Alamogordo 44
Quarterfinals — Tuesday, March 12, the Pit
(1) Hobbs (25-3) vs. (8) La Cueva (20-9), 8:15 p.m.
(5) Mayfield (23-5) vs. (4) Volcano Vista (22-5), 9:45 a.m.
(3) Farmington (25-4) vs. (6) Organ Mountain, 4:45 p.m.
(7) Eldorado (21-8) vs. (2) Sandia (25-3), 1:15 p.m.
Semifinals — Thursday, March 14, the Pit
Games at 9:45 a.m., 1:15 p.m.
Championship — Saturday, March 16
Semifinal winners, the Pit, 2 p.m.
CLASS 4A
First Round — Friday
(1) Kirtland Central 57, (16) Aztec 25
(8) Valencia 55, (9) Lovington 52, OT
(5) Portales 63, (12) Hope Christian 38
(4) Gallup 69, (13) Pojoaque Valley 29
(3) Artesia 61, (14) Silver 33
(11) Deming 56, (6) Albuquerque Academy 35
(7) Bloomfield 49, (10) Los Alamos 35
(2) St. Pius 59, (15) Española Valley 29
Quarterfinals — Tuesday, March 12, the Pit
(1) Kirtland Central (26-3) vs. (8) Valencia (19-11), 6:30 p.m.
(5) Portales (20-8) vs. (4) Gallup (22-8), 3 p.m.
(3) Artesia (21-6) vs. (11) Deming (16-10), 8 a.m.
(7) Bloomfield (19-9) vs. (2) St. Pius (24-3), 11:30 a.m.
Semifinals — Thursday, March 14, the Pit
Games at 8, 11:30 a.m.
Championship — Friday, March 15
Semifinal winners, the Pit, 7 p.m.
CLASS 3A
First Round — Friday
(1) Tohatchi 58, (16) Crownpoint 37
(8) Zuni 41, (9) Sandia Prep 40
(5) Tucumcari 54, (12) Ruidoso 32
(4) Santa Fe Indian 58, (13) Newcomb 27
(3) Navajo Prep 73, (14) Socorro 15
(6) West Las Vegas 54, (11) Thoreau 44
St. Michael's 56, (10) Cuba 31
(2) Robertson 71, (15) Wingate 38
Quarterfinals — Tuesday, March 12, Rio Rancho Events Center
(1) Tohatchi (23-6) vs. (8) Zuni (18-11), 8:15 p.m.
(5) Tucumcari (23-3) vs. (4) Santa Fe Indian (18-9), 4:45 p.m.
(3) Navajo Prep (22-9) vs. (6) West Las Vegas (14-12), 1:15 p.m.
(7) St. Michael's (14-11) vs. (2) Robertson (20-7), 9:45 a.m.
Semifinals — Thursday, March 14, Rio Rancho Events Center
Games at 9:45 a.m., 8:15 p.m.
Championship — Friday, March 15
Semifinal winners, the Pit, 3 p.m.
CLASS 2A
First Round — Friday
(1) Mesa Vista 48, (16) Capitan 32
(8) Laguna-Acoma 46, (9) Questa 40
(5) Menaul 39, (12) Estancia 30
(4) Tularosa 55, (13) Eunice 33
(3) Pecos 73, (14) Lordsburg 47
(6) Peñasco 66, (11) Clayton 31
(7) Dulce 49, (10) Texico 45
(2) Tatum 64, (15) Escalante 27
Quarterfinals — Tuesday, March 12, Rio Rancho Events Center
(1) Mesa Vista (25-3) vs. (8) Laguna-Acoma (18-9), 6:30 p.m.
(5) Menaul (22-4) vs. (4) Tularosa (22-6), 3 p.m.
(3) Pecos (22-6) vs. (6) Peñasco (18-11), 11:30 a.m.
(7) Dulce (19-10) vs. (2) Tatum (26-2), 8 a.m.
Semifinals — Thursday, March 14, Rio Rancho Events Center
Games at 9:45 a.m., 8:15 p.m.
Championship — Friday, March 15
Semifinal winners, the Pit, 3 p.m.
CLASS 1A
First Round — Friday
(1) Roy/Mosquero 41, (16) Animas 38
(9) Corona/Vaughn 46, at (8) Quemado 34
(5) Magdalena 47, (12) To'hajiilee 39
(4) Fort Sumner/House 65, (13) Pine Hill 41
(3) Logan 78, (14) Alamo Navajo 29
(6) Jemez Valley 51, (11) Springer 42
(10) Dora 49, (7) Melrose 44
(2) Cliff 38, (15) Reserve 34
Quarterfinals — Wednesday, March 13, Bernalillo HS
(1) Roy/Mosquero (24-1) vs. (9) Corona/Vaughn (20-3), 8 a.m.
(5) Magdalena (22-7) vs. (4) Fort Sumner/House (20-7), 11:30 a.m.
(3) Logan (21-7) vs. (6) Jemez Valley (25-4), 6:30 p.m.
(10) Dora (19-7) vs. (2) Cliff (26-2), 3 p.m.
Semifinals — Thursday, March 14, Rio Rancho Events Center
Games at 11:30 a.m., 3 p.m.
Championship — Saturday, March 16
Semifinal winners, the Pit, 10 a.m.
