Española Valley had a plan to slow down Los Alamos.
Junior Hailey Renteria stuck like glue to Los Alamos’ leading scorer, GG Romero, for the entire game.
“But we needed to help her out a bit more,” said Española senior Alyssa Garcia. “Needed to help her out a bit more and double team (Romero).”
Though they held Romero to 11 points, well below her season average of 18.8, the Lady Sundevils (14-11, 4-3 in district) fell at home 43-37 on Friday to Los Alamos (13-10, 4-1), and dropped behind in the district after a narrow loss.
“We had a few mistakes there in the end,” said Española senior Alyssa Garcia. “We’re going to fix stuff for the next game.”
Garcia pointed to finishing layups and aggressiveness as room for improvement.
“They made their shots, we didn’t,” said Española coach Ray Romero, who last year was the coach at Los Alamos.
The game saw the return of Española point guard and shooter Aliya Rael-Lopez from a wrist injury, giving them a full roster. However, several Sundevils were battling illness and were limited in the game, Ray Romero said.
Los Alamos won the tip, but Española scored first, and raced out to an 8-2 lead. But Los Alamos came back, and took a lead early in the second quarter. At halftime, the Hilltoppers led 21-19. Española’s offense went cold as they struggled with turnovers and letting up rebounds.
Los Alamos built a lead up to 30-23 in the third quarter, but a few baskets got Española back close. Alicia Chavez hit two baskets early in the fourth quarter, and Reneria hit a 3-pointer to get Española within a point.
But with 55 seconds left, GG Romero got to the basket on a strong move and scored a layup, putting the Hilltoppers up three. Garcia said that one possession was the difference in the game.
Española missed a shot in response. Los Alamos missed two free throws, giving Española a chance. But they missed a layup, and the Hilltoppers scored to make it a two-possession game, which they took to the finish.
“At Pojoaque, we were one free throw away, tonight we’re one possession away,” Ray Romero said. “We just can’t seem to finish the deal. That’s just the way the ball bounces I guess. When you’re one possession away at the end of the game, I’ll take that. Normally, we’ll execute.”
Renteria led the Sundevils with 10 points, and Garcia scored six.
Earlier in the evening, Española’s junior varsity team won big over Los Alamos.
The Sundevils are still ranked high enough to likely see a berth in the state tournament. But they sit now in third place in the district, two games behind, and will have to fight through the district tournament.
Española’s next game is Feb. 24 against Taos (6-18, 2-4).