When you see Tana Lopez, she is often remarkably quiet. A calm, neutral expression usually marks her face whether she is walking around a gymnasium or scoring 25 points and leading her team to victory.
But according to her Mesa Vista teammates, once she gets in the locker room, she is a different beast.
“She’s the one that gets us the most hype in the locker room,” senior Bella Boies said. “She’ll just scream. She’ll turn the lights off and she’ll just start yelling. She’s a completely different person with us.”
Lopez and the Lady Trojans (22-3, 9-0) officially clinched a district title with a 65-52 win in Peñasco (15-10, 7-2) on Thursday. It was an exceedingly rare district championship for Mesa Vista. The Lady Panthers, normally a strong matchup, were a step slower the whole night, while Mesa Vista played fantastically on both sides of the court.
“It’s an honor,” Boies said. “We’re starting a tradition that’s going to be at Mesa (Vista) for a while.”
Players were told this was the first time in school history that Mesa Vista won a girls basketball district championship, though that is in dispute. In 2011, the Lady Trojans won the regular season district title but lost to Dulce in the district tournament. Others from the game believed that the team won in 1978. Searches through the Rio Grande SUN archive were inconclusive. More investigation is ongoing.
Mesa Vista took over the game from the jump. Right after the tipoff, Mesa Vista missed a shot, grabbed an offensive rebound, and Lopez promptly drained a 3-pointer. On their next possession, she hit another one. The Lady Trojans never trailed.
“We were just playing as a team,” Bella Boies said. “Our shots were falling, our passes were going. It was just team effort.”
By the end of the first quarter, Mesa Vista led by nine, finishing the quarter on a 9-1 run. They led by 15 in the second quarter, and went into the locker room up by 12. Early in the third quarter, Mesa Vista was up by 19.
But Peñasco started a run for a comeback. After Mesa Vista was up by 15 in the fourth quarter, Peñasco responded and got within nine, and the Trojans needed a timeout to stall the game’s momentum.
“I just told them — we’re up by nine,” coach Jesse Boies said. “Nine points is a lot of points. Just calm down, and let’s get into rhythm again. They calmed down and they conquered.”
Shanae Silva immediately answered with a 3-pointer. From that point, Peñasco barely had a chance, and the Lady Trojans won by 13.
“I saw a lot of heart and determination on these girls tonight,” Jesse Boies said.
Lopez led Mesa Vista with 25 points in the win. Silva scored 14, and Brittni Suazo scored all eight of hers in the second half, including six in the fourth quarter to help the team pull away. Analise MacAuley scored 18 to lead Peñasco. Suazo’s defense in the post was big on limited MacAuley.
“She was an animal on defense,” Jesse Boies said.
Before heading to the district tournament, where they will host the final, Mesa Vista finishes the season at Mora (6-16, 0-9). Peñasco travels to Questa (17-8, 6-3).
“I’m thinking we’ll meet Peñasco again at the end,” Boies said.
Second-Quarter Surge Leads Trojans to Victory
Mesa Vista’s boys (19-5, 8-1) started slow but quickly picked up the pace to down Peñasco (6-18, 1-8) 70-40 and stay tied atop the district.
The Trojans grabbed an early lead, but Peñasco scored the last nine points of the first quarter to get within one, and were at 21-20 early in the second. From there on, it was entirely the Trojan show.
Mesa Vista scored 14 straight points, and embarked on a 33-2 run that stretched deep into the third quarter, and they led by over 30 points, before ultimately winning by 30.
Jordan Gallegos led the boys team with 18 points and Andres Valdez scored 14.
Escalante (17-7, 8-1) kept pace with a come-from-behind win over Mora (12-12, 5-4). The Lobos scored just three points in the first quarter, but came back with a 21-point fourth.
Both teams have one more game to try to determine the district champion. On Saturday, Mesa Vista travels to Mora, and Escalante plays at McCurdy (14-11, 5-4).