Pojoaque senior Janelle Roybal had already won two Class AAA state championship titles, one as a member of the 2006 Elkettes’ volleyball team, another as a member of the 2008 Pojoaque girls basketball team. She picked up her third state title March 13 on the floor of the Pit in Albuquerque after Pojoaque defeated Portales 44-38 to finish the season 31-0.
This was Elkettes’ first undefeated season since 1998 and the first time it has ever won consecutive Class AAA girls basketball titles.
“I’ve had other state championships before, but going undefeated is the best feeling ever,” Roybal said.
Much was expected of the Elkettes this season. They lost just one player to graduation from last year’s championship team — post Andrea Cruz. They replaced her with Jackie Bartleson who transferred to Pojoaque this school year and found the home she had been looking for in her high school basketball career.
Bartleson had begun playing in 2005 for St. Michaels High School as a freshman under then coach Ron Drake. But when Drake, who now coaches Española Valley High Schoool, was not rehired, Bartelson left for two seasons at Santa Fe High School before moving to Pojoaque.
“I was nervous; I was wondering if they would accept me,” she said. “During the summer playing basketball, we started clicking right away.”.
Bartleson sparked the Elkettes to a big start in the championship game, scoring eight of her game-high 15 points in the first quarter as the Elkettes grabbed a 10-5 lead.
In the second quarter, the rest of the team contributed, as Roybal shook herself free under the basket for a pair of layups and Marissa Romero knocked down a three-pointer. Portales matched the Elkettes in the fourth quarter, with each team scoring 12 points. Pojoaque led 22-17 at halftime.
Pojoaque tried to put away Portales in the third quarter. An impenetrable Pojoaque defense held Portales to only three points.
Elkette Nicole Gonzales, who replaced Romero after she committed three first-half fouls, contributed four key points. Gonzales’ second basket came after some pinpoint passing. Point guard Ellen Cruz hit Dionna Montoya as she cut through the lane, and Montoya flipped the ball across the lane to Gonzales who caught the ball and put up her shot in one smooth motion. That basket gave the Elkettes a 34-20 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Pojoaque jumped out to a 41-23 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Rams, however, made a final charge that nearly erased Pojoaque’s lead.
With Cruz hobbling along the sidelines grimacing in pain and fighting back tears after banging up her knee in a collision with Portales’ Macy Mitchell, Portales scored 12 unanswered points. The final nine points of the run came on a trio of three-pointers, including two back-to-back by Tayler Lucero. The Rams were within six points with two minutes left.
“I can’t say on camera what was going through my mind,” Pojoaque coach Lanse Carter said during his postgame media conference. “But I called a timeout and then another so we could get back our composure.”
Cruz overcame the pain and returned to run Pojoaque’s offense. She immediately made her presence felt, finding Montoya near the basket with a no-look pass. Montoya’s short jumper gave the Elkettes a 44-36 lead with 1:02 left in the game.
“I’ve never had an injury where I was out for a game,” Cruz said.
Portales sank one more three-pointer, but the Rams had begun their barrage too late as the Elkettes came a way with the third Class AAA state title in the program’s history.
Carter said the Elkettes handled the pressure of trying to repeat as state champions by never looking past any opponents.
“To be honest, I don’t think having an undefeated season was brought up even once,” Cruz said.
The victory was especially sweet for Roybal, who missed two weeks during the season due to personal problems and conflicts with coach Carter.
“I was going through some hard times and I wondered if they wanted me back and if they’d think, ‘We don’t need her,’” Roybal said.
Cruz knew better.
“We couldn’t have gone undefeated without her,” she said.