It wasn’t pretty, but the Española Valley Lady Sundevils survived a slow start March 5 in their opening-round game against the Silver Lady Colts to advance to the quarterfinals of the Class AAAA state basketball tournament.
The Sundevils won the game 55-36 at home.
“I’m excited and can’t wait,” Sundevil senior post Marisol Peña said. “To walk down the ramp at the Pit is going to be awesome.”
Peña scored a season-high 16 points and hauled in 12 rebounds, including 10 in the first half when the Sundevils struggled to score. Española spent the first four minutes of the game trying in vain to get the ball in the basket. Silver led 3-0 before the Sundevils scored and held an 8-4 lead before Española came back to tie the game at the end of the first quarter.
“Silver came out ready,” Española coach Ron Drake said. “We got outhustled and outrebounded.”
The Colts led 12-10 in the second quarter when Peña started a 10-0 run with a three-point play. Española led 23-18 at halftime.
“At halftime I told them, ‘You gotta want it,’” Drake said. “We’re 16 minutes away from the Pit. Who wants it?”
The Sundevils wanted it more in the third quarter, outscoring the Colts 14-1 to grab a 37-19 lead. Española led 41-24 at the end of the third quarter and extended its lead to 50-28 in the fourth quarter.
Guard Nisa Duran led the Sundevils with 17 points.
“I think we were a little too excited at the start and rushed our shots,“ Duran said.
The Sundevils struggled from the field and missed all of their three-point attempts. The difference in the game was turnovers forced by the Sundevils’ defense that led to easy baskets or free throws. Española was 17-of-29 from the free-throw line.
“(Española) had too many opportunities,” Silver coach Mike Carr said. “We had 20 turnovers at halftime.”
In the Española locker room, there are four goals that Drake had written on the board before the start of the season: win 20 games, win the district regular season championship, win the district tournament and get to the Pit. Española is 25-4 this season, won both district titles and is headed to the Pit.
“It’s been there since June,” Drake said.
It was a long way from the 0-27 season that Peña and Duran suffered through in 2006-2007, just before Drake took over the girls basketball program.
“When he came, I thought maybe he could make a difference,” Peña said. “He did.”
Española faced a familiar foe in the quarterfinals at the Pit Tuesday in Albuquerque. The Los Alamos Lady Hilltoppers beat St. Pius X 63-56 March 5 to advance to the quarterfinals and face the Sundevils. The District 2AAAA rivals had already met four times during the season, with Española holding a 3-1 edge on Los Alamos.
“I glad it’s two teams from our district,” Drake said. “I wish it wasn’t so soon.”