The Española Valley Lady Sundevils tuned up for their showdown Tuesday with the Pojoaque Elkettes with a 65-53 victory over West Las Vegas Jan. 8 in Española.
The Lady Dons, a District 2AAA rival of the Elkettes, lost to the Elkettes 66-36 Dec. 20 in the championship game of the Ben Lujan Tournament in Pojoaque. Although the Sundevils’ margin of victory was not as impressive as the Elkettes, the final score was deceiving. Española led by 24 points heading into the final two minutes of the game when coach Ron Drake pulled his starters and inserted his substitutes.
“They gave up 13 points in two minutes,” Drake said. “West was pressing them ,and they don’t know what to do, which is my fault.”
Española had established a big lead in the first quarter by outscoring the Dons 28-6. Española led 41-18 at halftime.
“We came out so good,” Drake said. “We let up a little in the second half.”
Sundevil Megan Martinez led all scorers with 23 points. Nisa Duran added 12 points for the Sundevils.
Española will have its hands full against Pojoaque, the defending Class AAA state champions.
“They’re undefeated (13-0), and it’s over there too,” Drake said. “It’s going to be a tough game.”
The Sundevils will have little time to rest after they face Pojoaque. The Sundevils will travel to Aztec for the Aztec Invitational Tournament, where they’ll face Artesia, the defending tournament champion, Thursday (1/15) in the opening round.
Española will open their District 2AAA season against Capital High School Jan. 20 in Santa Fe. The Sundevils be without the services of Martinez, who will be performing with the Mariachi del Sol Valle at the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on that day.
“It’s a once in a lifetime thing,” Drake said. “We’ll move Marisol (Peña) into Megan’s spot and move Justin Vigil out to the wing.”
Martinez should return for Española’s Jan. 23 game at Taos.