The Sundevils faced a challenge in their first game.
To open the season at home, they faced Santa Fe Indian School, a year after losing by 19 to the Braves team that would go to the 3A state finals
But Española Valley (who plays in 4A) fought into overtime in a season-opening battle on Tuesday, and came out on top in a 45-40 victory, powered by a strong defense that forced numerous turnovers.
“The girls never gave up, they had each other’s back, and they got the job done,” said Ray Romero, who wins his first game in his second stint as Sundevils’ head coach.
Junior point guard Aliya Rael-Lopez hit big shots in big moments after being held scoreless in the first half.
“For a moment there, I was kind of scared,” she said. “I wasn’t hitting shots, I was making a lot of turnovers. And my teammates, more than anything … it’s all from the support of my teammates.”
Santa Fe Indian had the size advantage, and used that to win rebounds. They had to play strategically, and create opportunities on defense.
“Everybody knows, everybody in the Valley is short,” Rael-Lopez said.
The Braves scored first, then Española answered on a 3-pointer by Alyanna Medina. Both offenses started slow in the game, with Santa Fe Indian leading 8-7 after the first quarter.
Española’s aggressive defense hounded the Braves all game, forcing steals and leading to easy baskets in transition — that is, when they were able to capitalize. Many opportunities also resulted in missed free throws: Española made just two of their nine first-half attempts. Chalk it up to first-game nerves.
“We were getting our jitters out today,” Rael-Lopez said.
Shifting into the second half, the Sundevils worked to limit their fouls; the Braves shot 15 free throws in the first half, and just six in the second. They also shifted their defense between full-court press, halfcourt traps and man-to-man.
Alicia Chavez led the Sundevils with 11 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 20-17 halftime lead.
Española’s offense picked up in the third quarter, and early in the fourth quarter they led by nine
“We’re a second-half team sometimes,” Rael-Lopez said. “In the first half, we were a little sloppy. In the second half, we come to the locker room, we tell each other, ‘Lock in.’ We just hype each other up. We come out, and we show up.”
But then they went cold again, scoring just two points in the final six minutes, and none in the final four of regulation. That let the Braves claw back with a 9-0 run to end regulation and force overtime.
The end of regulation featured turnovers by both teams; Española lost the ball near their basket with 13 seconds left, then Felicia Chavez stole it back with four seconds left. But an inbounds pass after a timeout went untouched, giving the Braves a chance near the basket with still four seconds left, but their final shot missed.
Early in overtime, Alyanna Medina drew a foul on a 3-pointer and made two free throws. And with five seconds remaining, Rael-Lopez drew a foul and hit both shots to extend the lead to five points.
In the earlier games, Española won 58-34 in the C team game, and battled in a tight junior varsity game for a 39-33 win.
Española heads to the Bobby Rodriguez Tournament in Santa Fe, where they face Cleveland in the first round. The Storm started their season Tuesday with a 57-41 loss to Clovis.