Each of the last three years has been the best in Mesa Vista girls basketball history.
In 2022, they won their first ever state tournament game in an upset. A year ago, they won 23 games and only lost to the eventual champions. This year, they pushed that number to 26 wins as the number one team throughout the year, and got all the way to the semifinals.
And along the way, they inspired a community.
“I’m proud of what we did,” said Mesa Vista senior Kylie Torrez. “Mesa Vista is going to be a name for future generations to come.”
But one bad day dashed their hopes of finishing that run with the ultimate goal. An all-around game cost top-seeded Mesa Vista (26-4) in the state semifinal, as they fell to No. 4 Tularosa (24-6) 47-37 on Wednesday in Rio Rancho.
“It doesn’t define our season, it doesn’t define what we accomplished,” Boies said. “We fell short tonight. But in my heart, these girls are winners. Especially the seniors, they’ve paved the way for Mesa Vista that will live for a long time. A long time.”
The Trojans were cold throughout the game, finishing with 25 percent shooting. After making their first three shots, they finished 8-for-41 (under 20 percent). Uncharacteristically, they missed half of their 24 free throws. And they lost the rebounding battle 45-31 to a Tularosa team that was bigger and more aggressive than they expected.
“I thanked them,” coach Jesse Boies said. “I thanked them for the memories. I thanked them for the run. They did us special. Special.”
Tana Lopez and Shanae Silva both led the team with 14 points, but shot worse than usual. And they turned the ball over 19 times while their press was never able to get into full gear.
Aaralyn Stephens starred for Tularosa with 18 points and 16 rebounds, including her first 3-pointer of the season.
For just a moment, Mesa Vista looked like their usual selves. They scored the first basket in four seconds. They scored on their second possession, their third and their fourth, and quickly went up 7-1 in just 92 seconds.
And then they went cold. After one quarter, they still led by four, but the middle quarters got away from them. By halftime, they went down 25-22, though they briefly took back the lead in the third quarter.
They needed a run to get going. But that run — forcing turnovers, hitting shots, scoring in transition — their trademark over the last three, four years, just never came.
“It was an awful feeling,” senior Bella Boies said between tears. “I knew it was going to be my last few minutes in my last game. I just wanted to do everything I could to make it to the championship.”
After scoring four points early in the third, they had just two for the rest of the quarter. And Tularosa grew the lead bigger through the rest of the game, up to 13 midway through the fourth quarter. All Mesa Vista had was a shot here, a shot there, but never any true momentum, despite the huge crowd at their backs.
Really, their 37-point total says it all. The fewest points they had scored in 25 months.
“I always told the girls all season, if we’re in the 40s or lower, that’s not us,” Jesse Boies said.
Hanging over the team after the game was still their unimaginable tragedy: the deaths of coach Leonard Torrez, Jr. and assistant Leo Torrez in January 2022. Though it often goes unstated, they are forever bonded as a team.
The Lady Trojans still have one more job to do. Just as they have all year, they will cheer on the boys team, this time in The Pit in their state semifinal game.
“Take in all the moments,” Kylie Torrez said. “Because you’re never going to get that moment back. I’m never going to get it back. I hope the best for them.”
“It’s going to be hard,” Jesse Boies said. “But we’ll be here supporting them in black and gold and screaming our heads off.”
See more in next week’s Rio Grande Sun