The Española Lady Sundevils won their first District 2AAAA title in school history Feb. 28 by defeating Los Alamos 45-35 in Española.
“I am very proud of these girls,” Española coach Ron Drake said. “They have come a long way.”
Drake has led a renaissance at Española, where only two seasons ago the team failed to win any games. He was awarded for his effort by being named the District Coach of the Year.
The district title helped the Sundevils garner a 10th seed in the Class AAAA state tournament. Despite facing a lower seed, seventh-seeded Belen, Española will host the game because it was a district champion and Belen was not.
“I am very proud to be in the tournament,” Drake said. “The team deserves to be here.”
Española’s latest victory was not pretty. Both teams missed a lot of shots in the first two quarters. The Lady Hilltoppers attempted 15 field goals and made only six, while the Sundevils attempted 17 field goals and made only eight.
The Sundevils’ tough defense prevented the Hilltoppers from scoring inside and forced them to take outside shots.
Sundevil Megan Martinez scored two three-pointers to give the Sundevils a 10-4 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Sundevils continued to play a tight zone that kept the taller Hilltopper team from playing the inside post game. And Martinez kept shooting and led her team with 14 points. The Sundevils led 20-11 at halftime.
The Hilltoppers did not shoot any better after halftime. They missed 27 field goals in the second half.
At the end of the third quarter, the Sundevils were up 29-17.
The Hilltoppers scored more points in the fourth quarter than in the previous three quarters (17 points combined). Half of the points came from the free-throw line where they outscored the Sundevils 18-16.
The Sundevils kept putting the Hilltoppers on the bonus line which kept the game within striking distance with 3:16 left to play and the score 35-28.
On the other side, the Sundevils scored 14 of the 16 points in the fourth quarter at the free-throw line. Sundevil guard Nisa Duran lived up to her billing as the District Player of the Year in crunch time. Duran scored eight of her 10 points from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
“We have been working hard at practice, and it paid off,” Duran said. “We have come along way, and we didn’t want to lose tonight.”
The Sundevils had 10 turnovers in the fourth quarter, yet would not give up the lead.
“I was in the hospital for four weeks and didn’t think I would come back to coach, but my family, God, and the team game me the strength to get back on the court,” Drake said. “I am so proud of these girls. Now we will go back in the gym and get ready for the state tournament.”