Class 2A Girls
No. 1 seed – Escalante Lady Lobos (vs. No. 16 Lordsburg Mavericks)
The Lady Lobos were seconds away from a state championship a year ago, but the season ended in heartbreak as Clayton drove down the court for the win in the closing seconds.
But now, Escalante is back as the top seed and looking to finish the job.
And the rematch with Clayton could be in the second round, or they could play a top-three team in Santa Rosa.
The Lady Lobos are led by Brycelyn Martinez, the district player of the year, a great post with elite scoring and rebounding ability.
Fellow seniors Emma Maestas and Cipriana Garcia lead the team as well, with Maestas able to get hot at any time for a big scoring night, and Garcia (the 2021-22 district player of the year) as an excellent ballhandler and offensive captain with a great outside shot, as well as the team leader in steals with four per game. And role players have been stepping up all season.
Lordsburg makes a 7-hour trip to northern New Mexico, though the Mavericks struggled down the stretch.
Escalante’s second-round matchup could be one of the toughest in a competitive 2A bracket, as they face either the defending champion and preseason favorite (Clayton) or a team in Santa Rosa recently ranked in the top three.
With a new coach and changing lineups, Escalante took some time to learn a new system. It has not been the day-to-day domination of recent years.
Instead, the team is now defense focused, and could be peaking at the right time.
They come in red-hot, having won nine straight games, beating top teams, and cruising to a district championship.
“It’s what we’re supposed to do,” coach Bryan Gonzales said. “It doesn’t matter what the seed is, you’ve got to beat everybody anyway.”
It will be a battle, but if everything comes together, Escalante will be hoisting the blue trophy in the Pit.
No. 2 Mesa Vista Lady Trojans (vs. No. 15 Eunice Cardinals)
The start of Mesa Vista’s year surpassed everyone’s imagination, getting out to an 11-0 start and winning both Ben Lujan and Northern Rio Grande tournaments, despite about as tough a schedule as they could create.
Their last three weeks, however, have been a struggle, losing twice to Peñasco and not even making the district final game.
“We got humbled,” coach Jesse Boies said. “We know that if you don’t show up on any night, you’re going to get beat. Especially in this field.
But at their very best, the Lady Trojans could probably win not just the 2A championship but 3A as well. They enter the field as the No. 2 seed, the best in school history as the team continues to set records.
Amarissa Quintana commands the post and brings senior leadership. Tana Lopez has fully broken out in her sophomore year to lead the scoring attack, and doesn’t miss once she gets hot. And point guard Bella Boies leads the offense with the highest assist total in the state at 5.6 per game.
Eunice has to make a long trip from the southeast. The Cardinals were a preseason state favorite but have not yet meet those expectations, and have not competed with the top teams, though they have size in the post.
And their second-round matchup could come against a Texico team that started slow but then came out on top in an extremely competitive district, topping preseason favorites Clayton and Santa Rosa, going 4-1 against those two teams.
If Mesa Vista recaptures their early-season magic, they could cruise all the way to the end. But other teams know what they can do, and the coaching staff will have to adjust.
No. 6 Dulce Lady Hawks (vs. No. 11 Peñasco Panthers)
Few expected the Dulce Lady Hawks to be among the top teams in the state entering the season. But those who looked closely saw a team that consistently lost close games to the very top teams.
Dulce proved themselves as one of the top teams from the start of the year, beating bigger schools and proving they could compete with, and eventually beat, Mesa Vista.
Their eight losses this year have come against just four teams, losing three times each to Mesa Vista and Laguna-Acoma (mostly in close games), and once each to Santa Fe Indian School (the No. 3 seed in 2A) and an Arizona state champion.
Laguna-Acoma has proven to be a pesky opponent, and knocked Dulce out of what could have been a top seed. In the district final, a Laguna-Acoma prayer shot connected in the final seconds to sink Dulce.
“We had no words,” coach Alyssa Veneno said. “It was just one of those lucky shots that happened to go in … I think it just added more fuel to the fire going into the tournament.”
A rematch (for the fifth time in five weeks) between the two Lady Hawks could come in the quarterfinal. But to get there, Dulce will have to contend with a potentially underseeded Peñasco team. The two missed each other in the Northern Rio Grande Tournament, both losing to Mesa Vista, but it should be an exciting matchup.
Sidneyanne Becenti is a physical menace in the post on both offense and defense. And Bailey Vigil is an elite scorer at all levels. Those two usually combine for most of the points, but supporting role players also can step up and have big nights.
“They’ve proven their point,” Veneno said, “that they can hang with anybody.”
No. 11 Peñasco Lady Panthers (vs. No. 6 Dulce Hawks)
Team coach Mandy Montoya’s strategy was to load the early schedule with tough games, taking a few losses but preparing the team for the postseason.
They started the year 7-8, but turned on the jets for districts.
A year removed from reaching the state semifinal, the No. 11 seed certainly seems lower than the way they have been playing in recent weeks, including knocking off Mesa Vista once in the regular season and again in the district tournament to reach the final.
They also have a win against the top seed, Escalante, as does their first-round opponent: the Dulce Hawks.
That matchup could be a post battle between Dulce’s Sidneyanne Becenti and Peñasco’s top player, junior Analise MacAuley. Peñasco also boasts strong guards, including freshman Rochelle Lopez, and Alexuis Romero, who coach Mandy Montoya has called the best rebounder in the district.
Peñasco fell in the state final after playing their fourth game in five days. But Montoya said they will have to overcome that, winning four games in a row in loud environments, to reach their goal of a state championship.
“It’s going to be fun,” Montoya said of their first-round game. “It’s going to be a good matchup.”
Class 2A Boys
No. 6 Escalante Lobos (vs. No. 11 Mesa Vista Trojans)
Escalante’s expectations were low entering the year, at least from the outside. Replacing an extremely talented and huge senior class was going to be a tough challenge.
But the Lobos knew what they had in store. After a 2-5 start, a win over Academy for Technology and the Classics — the No. 2 seed — may have turned around their whole season, because Escalante is 16-2 since that game.
“One thing that this team is, they’re playing as a team,” coach Isaac Royston said. “They don’t really care who’s the high-point man. The only thing that matters to them is winning and playing as a team.”
One of those losses came against Pecos, the top overall seed, at the Northern Rio Grande Tournament as the Lobos gave the Panthers one of their toughest fights of the year, and were a few missed layups away from potentially having the game come down all the way to the end.
Escalante’s do-everything wing Luka Torrez has learned to step up and be more selfish when needed, emerging as one of the region’s top players.
But he cannot do it alone, with senior point guard Tomas Atencio distributing the ball and running the offense — second in the state with 5.1 assists per game — and big shooting threats provided by players like Greysen Horan keeps defenders on their toes.
But Mesa Vista will not be an easy opponent in the first round, having beaten the Lobos to start the district season, and providing an up-tempo pace when Escalante wants to be slower than they were in recent years. Texico, a potential quarterfinal opponent, also goes at a high tempo. But Escalante also has shown that they can compete with the very top teams.
No. 11 Mesa Vista Trojans (vs. No. 6 Escalante Lobos)
From the jump, it was clear that this would be a different kind of team in Mesa Vista. In their very first game, they scored 90 points — 55 in just the first half.
The Trojans kept that pace throughout the season, and again scored 90 points in a district semifinal game.
Mesa Vista finished second in a competitive district, splitting the regular season with Escalante, and lost again to Lobos in the district tournament final.
They earned a No. 11 seed and a rematch with, yet again, Escalante —a game that will, like their previous matchup, be standing-room only.
“Unfortunately, one northern team is going to stay home,” coach Thomas Vigil said. “I wish that we would both be able to go to Albuquerque.”
Jordan Cervantes, always a strong scorer, has become more consistent in his senior year. Fellow seniors Angel Montoya and Brandon Sandoval are also strong contributors, and freshman Jordan Gallegos keeps growing both in height and as a well-rounded modern center.
Mesa Vista knows that they can beat the Lobos, but they will have to find a way to stop Luka Torrez, something they have yet to do successfully —he has 80 points and 39 rebounds in their three games.
“That’s the million dollar question,” Vigil said. “If coaches knew the answer to that, then we’d all be champions.
No. 14 Dulce Hawks (vs. No. 3 Texico Wolverines)
Dulce had perhaps their best win of the season at the ideal time.
On the tournament bubble, an automatic berth may not have been necessary, but certainly helped them breathe easier.
The Hawks faced Rehoboth Christian in the tournament final after losing twice by double digits in the regular season and in close games all of last season. They trailed the whole game, including by five in the final minute.
But the Lynx missed free throws and Dulce got hot. In a tie game, James Johnson grabbed a rebound in the closing seconds and fired a full-court pass to Ivan Harrison for a breakaway layup, giving Dulce a win in the closing seconds and an official spot in the state tournament.
Coach Erik Petago praised the effort of the team’s seniors in the win.
Dulce has both size and skill, and can be one of the best teams in the state if they put it all together.
Bob Harrison, Jr. is a senior and team leader is a tall guard with good scoring ability, and his younger cousin Ivan has emerged as a go-to on offense. Forward Johnson is one of the most athletic players in the region.
Dulce will host Texico in the first round in what should be a high-scoring game — Texico recently played a 94-80 game against Pecos —but the Wolverines have been among the best teams across small-school competition in New Mexico. An upset by Dulce after a 6-hour drive will be difficult, but don’t rule it out yet.
No. 16 McCurdy Bobcats (vs. No. 1 Pecos Panthers)
For the second year in a row, McCurdy found a way to get hot late in the season.
At 5-11, the season looked lost. But once districts came around, McCurdy found a team identity, and learned how to play to everyone’s strengths on the team. They finished third in the district at 7-3, beat Mesa Vista once in overtime, and snuck into the state tournament as the final at-large.
Young players — junior Lucas Martinez and sophomore Ryan Montoya — are usually the highest scorers, but the Bobcats have any number of players who can be the leader on a given night. Seniors including Casey Nevarez provide leadership and a defensive presence. And sophomore Jeremaya Roybal, an occasional starter, provides excitement with an ability to dunk.
In their most recent game, McCurdy scored 82 points, but fell to Mesa Vista in the district tournament. Coach Ernesto Espinoza said it gives them confidence to know they can score so many points, but hope not to rely on that.
But as the final seed, they have to play No. 1, Pecos, who has so far beat every 2A team they have played, and dominated most of them. In December, they beat McCurdy by 38 points.
“We know what they’re about,” Espinoza said.
The Bobcats, according to Espinoza, will have to avoid turnovers, and cannot get caught up in playing Pecos’ game.
Class 4A Boys
No. 15 Pojoaque Elks (vs. No. 2 Highland Hornets)
Pojoaque is in the tournament field for the first time since 2017, and the first time in 4A under the current alignment (the Elks competed in 4A when New Mexico briefly expanded to six classifications, and were in 3A for much of their history).
Pojoaque’s district tournament ended early with a loss to Los Alamos, when they trailed by 19 points before coming back to lose by four. Poor free-throw shooting ultimately made the difference, highlighting the Elks’ struggles late in the season.
The Elks went 9-2 in November and December, but have struggled since the calendar flipped, and are 7-9 in 2023.
Derek Sanchez is one of the top scorers in the state, at 25 points per game (fourth in the state) and peaking at 53 in a game against Aztec.
But when he has an off night, as happened occasionally late in the season, or the team becomes over-reliant on him, the gears slow down and winning becomes difficult.
Tobias Velasquez can compliment him with an outside shot, and freshman center Serafin Mendez has stepped up and become a big presence late in the season.
Now, Pojoaque contends with the defending state champions, though one with a very different look without Jose Murillo. Good guard play has led the Highland Hornets, while Pojoaque will have to focus on getting back to fundamentals and running an offense to look for the best shot attempt.
“I like our chances, honestly,” said Pojoaque coach Jason Mossman. “We have four seniors that want to finish off in a good way.”