Coronado was down to four players.
At the Cuba tournament in early January, injuries, illnesses and players fouling out left them at one point down a player on the court. In response, they managed to call in new players, adding more to the basketball team to fill out the bench.
The new players helped Coronado and provided key depth as the Leopards (3-8, 1-1 in district) won their first district game since 2020, defeating New Mexico School for the Deaf (2-6, 0-4) on Wednesday, 39-30.
Senior Abigail Suskey, one of the new players, said at the start of the year, “I finally had to make the choice between academics and athletics.”
Suskey, a tall post player and good rebounder, had played basketball in years past, but had to focus to get back on track for graduating. She did, and was drawn to the basketball team, who had not played in 2021-22 and had just three games the year before.
“The girls were doing an absolutely amazing job out here,” she said. “And I just definitely wanted to be a part of that … It really pushed me to be a part of this. I wanted to enjoy what they were enjoying.”
Aliyah Russell also joined the team, playing her first game while new to basketball. Her playing time was limited in the first half, but when starters fouled out, her presence was important as she made big defensive plays down the stretch.
The Leopards are without Ashlynn Jaramillo, who had been an exciting story as one of the state’s leading scorers at over 20 points per game. She suffered a knee injury, and they are unsure if she will be able to play again this season.
“It was just such a motivator to rally around her,” said Coronado coach Monique Garcia. “But it taught us a lesson for us to spread the love amongst the team.”
The game started at a slow pace, with the Leopards up 6-5 at the end of the first quarter. After falling behind, Rebecca Chacon made a huge run, scoring eight straight points, and brought the Leopards to a 14-9 lead at halftime, which they held onto.
In the fourth quarter, Chacon and then two other players fouled out. But the extra depth on the bench proved crucial to Coronado maintaining five players on the court. They led by 11 points, but NMSD closed the gap to just five, but then the Leopards pulled away to win by nine.
“This kind of fires us up,” Garcia said. “Us playing our game, getting out of our heads, and knowing that we can be competitors.”
Chacon led all players with 13 points. Suskey scored five in her second game of the year.
“It meant everything with these girls,” Suskey said. “The experience as a senior, seeing these freshmen take up these roles, and seeing these juniors and sophomores take up these roles, is definitely filling to me.”
Coronado has also had to battle with a series of postponements and cancellations due to snow, and are just now starting to get back on schedule after two weeks.
The Leopards next face Legacy Academy (5-8, 2-2) on Saturday.
“Knowing what we can do, and what’s capable of being done, especially in these district games, what this team is capable of doing on this court and even off this court,” Suskey said.