Uncharacteristically, the Lady Lobos went through a rough stretch. They lost four out of six games, including to 2A teams they would normally beat.
But the Escalante girls (11-7, 2-1) started to get back on track with an easy-looking 62-44 win over Peñasco (9-9, 2-1) at home on Thursday. In their previous game, they fought hard against Mesa Vista after a slow start, and before that came a 36-point win over Questa.
In all, signs are looking up for the Lady Lobos, who are seemingly settling into a rhythm under a new offensive system with Gonzales in his first year, with crisp passes setting up good shot attempts. They seem more exuberant and upbeat than they had in previous weeks, recapturing the energy that always seems to follow them through basketball and volleyball.
“A lot of it’s just them learning the system,” Gonzales said. “They’re starting to learn the system more, starting to feel more comfortable with it. They looked more comfortable tonight.”
At the Northern Rio Grande tournament a few weeks ago, the Lady Lobos struggled in a semifinal game against the Panthers, and lost by nine while scoring just 42 points. They passed that scoring mark just a few minutes into the third quarter this time.
“We’ve just been practicing a lot,” said Escalante center Brycelyn Martinez. “Everyone was contributing this time. We were all working as a team, and no one was selfish. And we were just playing to win.”
The Panthers were without Charnelle Gonzales, a leading contributor, who was unavailable due to a college class she is taking.
Emma Maestas led the Lady Lobos with 20 points, her second-straight big game.
“Emma’s becoming more consistent,” Gonzales said. “She’s getting used to running that short corner for us.”
Martinez — the team’s leader in scoring, assists, rebounds and steals — is still recovering from a sprained ankle, and while she returned to the starting lineup her minutes were limited. But while she has been injured, the team has rallied.
“All my team’s stepping up,” Martinez said. “They’re doing their jobs, and everyone’s working together. I think we’re coming together now.”
Point guard Cipriana Garcia has seemingly been more involved in the offense as of late.
“Once she gets into the flow of the offense, she’s a great passer, she runs things, she gets things set up,” Gonzales said. “She’s basically the quarterback of the offense. We trust her to do that.”
The Lady Lobos came out to a nearly perfect start. Garcia hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring, then Peñasco’s Analise MacAuley answered with one of her own. Then, Escalante scored the next 15 straight points to go up 18-3. During that time, their offense worked perfectly, and their press easily forced turnovers for a transition basket.
Peñasco made a slight run late in the half, but Escalante went to the locker room up 35-21.
The second half was relatively more even, after the Lobos went up by 20 in the third quarter, Peñasco came back to within 12 but never any closer, and Escalante won by 18.
MacAuley scored 13 points to lead Peñasco.
Earlier in the night, the junior varsity Lobos took a 23-2 start, and cruised to a 60-23 win.
Next up, the Lady Lobos will face Mora (6-11, 1-2) at home, and look to continue momentum with another big win.
“We have just like a spark,” Martinez said. “We just celebrate the win until tomorrow morning. Then we have to get back into our zone and focus on Mora.”