After three games in three days on their home court, the Pojoaque Valley High School girls basketball team remains perfect.
The Elkettes improved to 10-0 Dec. 22 after pulling away from the Peñasco High School Lady Panthers in a 51-37 win in the championship game of the 27th annual girls Ben Luján Tournament hosted at Pojoaque’s Ben Luján Gymnasium.
The Elkettes rode a balanced scoring attack and used their size to their advantage, as Ashten Martinez and freshman Tonni Aquino combined for 27 points and 20 rebounds.
Aquino finished with a team-high 14 points, while Ashten Martinez (14 rebounds, five steals) and Michaela Martinez each added 13.
The Lady Panthers jumped out to a 11-6 lead after the first quarter of play behind two 3-point baskets from Alaska Lopez, but the Elkettes awoke in the second quarter, outscoring Peñasco 22-7 behind an 18-3 scoring run. Ashten Martinez provided 8 of her 13 points in the quarter.
“I told them one quarter at a time, which was great because we were leading after the first quarter,” Peñasco head coach Gilbert Mascareñas said. “That first three or four minutes of the second we let it go and I think that was the difference.”
However, the Lady Panthers would respond in the third quarter, outscoring the Elkettes 13-9 to jump within 37-31 heading into the final eight minutes.
Carly Gonzalez knocked down two free throws with 4:27 remaining in the game to bring Peñasco within 40-35, but their defense fell asleep on the next possession, leaving Pojoaque’s Michaela Martinez wide open for a 3-pointer that began what would be a 9-0 run that pushed Pojoaque’s lead to 49-35 with 1:45 remaining.
“We knew we had to bring the intensity in the second half if we wanted to win this game,” Michaela Martinez said. “We knew they would bring a good intensity in the second half, so we just had to pick it up when they made their run.”
Pojoaque head coach Seledon Martinez said he never saw any panic from his girls, who managed to bend, but not break for the second time in two games. During their semifinal game against Dulce High School, Pojoaque had to withstand a 24-11 third quarter run from the Lady Hawks, who got within 42-38 entering the fourth quarter after Dulce trailed 31-14 at halftime.
“We weathered the storm until we could pick it up and start going again,” Seledon Martinez said about the championship game. “We still need to get more consistent at starting the game and the second half, but the one who probably has the least patience is me right now. I looked at the girls and in their faces, they didn’t seem rattled at all.”
The Lady Panthers never quit, but their motors may have been running on empty after their 49-47 semifinal come-from-behind win Dec. 21 against Santa Fe Indian School.
“We came back in the third (against Pojoaque), but we used up a lot of energy,” Mascareñas said. “We were a little bit emotionally drained from that game yesterday.”
Trailing 35-25 entering the fourth quarter against the Indian School, Peñasco exploded in the final eight minutes to outscore the Lady Braves 24-12 behind their press defense and shooting touch from Adrianna Tafoya.
The junior led the charge in the second half, scoring 18 of her 22 total points. She nailed four 3-pointers, but no shots were bigger than her two free throws to tie the game at 45 apiece with 1:05 remaining after a dish from Gonzalez got her to the line.
“I’ve been on her all year,” Mascareñas said about Tafoya. “When she has open looks, she’s got to shoot it and shoot in sync.”
However, on the next possession, she returned the favor and instead of shooting, she found Gonzalez underneath, who put home what would be the game winning layup with 34 seconds remaining. Gonzalez scored 16 of her game-high 27 points in the second half.
“I knew my team needed it,” Tafoya said about her second half performance. “I kinda relaxed and a couple shots started going in, so I got real confident.”
The Lady Braves’ scrappy defensive effort in the first half was a huge part in limiting Peñasco to 17 points, but the offense began to flow in the second half with Gonzalez as the focal point underneath.
“Santa Fe Indian, what they have is a lot of utility girls and they’re all like guards, even their center,” Mascareñas said. “They were all cutting to the ball making it hard for us, so once they went into some man, we had a couple set plays and we started throwing it into our big girl (Gonzalez) and all sudden we had back cutters going in and that’s what opened it up for us.”
The Lady Panthers (7-2) also picked up a first round win against Class 4A’s Bernalillo in a 70-53 effort and the experience they got against the bigs of Pojoaque should prepare them for anything they see when they return to Ben Luján Gymnasium Jan. 3-5 for the Northern Rio Grande Tournament, and really, for the rest of the season in 2A.
“I told the girls, ‘We didn’t lose, we learned,’” Mascareñas said.
Gonzalez was honored after the championship for the high-point scoring award after she totaled 67 points over the three games.
As for Pojoaque, 4A’s No. 1 ranked team capped off their second straight tournament championship after conquering the Alice King Invitational in Moriarty the week prior. They also repeated as champions of the Ben Luján Tournament after winning it all a season ago over Mora High School.
“We all have a really strong bond on the court right now,” Michaela Martinez said. “It’s really helping us right now and when we get out there it makes things easy.”
Seledon Martinez said he’s just happy the team is 10-0, but more so, he’s starting to see all the pieces come together as a unit, which is something he’s been preaching since he arrived at Pojoaque in 2015. He’s excited to get back to a normal practice routine and said the girls are ready to get back in the gym and keep putting in work.
“We don’t want them to save the world, we just want them to save their part,” he said after the semifinals against Dulce. “If they do that, then we can all save the world together.”