The Coronado Leopards are headed to the Class AA quarterfinals after a fast-paced 56-45 win March 6 over the Questa Wildcats in Gallina.
With the bleachers packed, and the home crowd restless, the Leopards managed to pull ahead during the first quarter. However, the Wildcats put up a hard fight and never fell behind more than 12 points the rest of the game.
One of Coronado’s lead scorers Pat Cordova made a few long shots, but the majority of baskets were made in close quarters.
“There was a lot of bad positions where we rushed the ball too much, but we did manage to get ahead and not let them back in,” Cordova said.
By the second quarter, things began to pick up, but so did the fouls. After three minutes, the Leopards had only a 21-19 lead but had seven fouls.
“It was a physical game,” Leopard coach Ezau Rios said. “We were slow on defense and they kept breaking us down, but we feel that if we can get them out to guard us, we can beat anyone.”
The Leopards managed to grab a 30-24 halftime lead.
After the Wildcats cut the deficit to four points in the third quarter, Rios had the Leopards draw out the Questa defenders.
For over a minute Cordova stood holding the ball as the Wildcats looked on. As the seconds ticked by the Questa fans’ displeasure became louder. However, the tactic began to work as the Wildcat guards did come out and Coronado eventually increased its lead to 41-34.
“It was an amazing game, and I liked how it got really physical at the end,’ Coronado forward Josh Jacquez said.
The Leopards scored 15 points during the final six minutes of the game compared with the Wildcats which managed 11.
“I missed a few shots and coach got on my case and I had to fix it, but that was just the type of game it was,” Coronado’s Jason Velasquez said.
Rios thought the game went well, but said there was room for improvement.
“I really didn’t feel very good through the whole game, because defensively, we were making too many mistakes,” Rios said.