Shanae Silva left the game in the third quarter, carried off the floor with a glute cramp.
She returned at the start of the fourth quarter, and you would never have known it, or expected to see her walking gingerly after the game. Silva scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to carry Mesa Vista to a win over their district rival.
“I knew my team needed me, and I knew I couldn’t back down,” Silva said. “So, I just pushed through the pain.”
The Lady Trojans (17-3, 4-0) stayed on top of the district with a 53-45 comeback win over Peñasco (11-9, 3-1) on Saturday in Ojo Caliente. Both teams battled foul trouble in the game, and went stretches with their post players on the bench.
“To beat us, you have to go all four quarters, all eight minutes of each quarter,” said Mesa Vista Coach Jesse Boies. “We finally got them in the fourth (quarter).”
It was, surprisingly, the first home win by Mesa Vista over Peñasco since 2016 (they had beaten them in Peñasco and at the Northern Rio Grande Tournament), a fact that was used to motivate the Lady Trojans before the game.
With the win, Mesa Vista takes sole ownership of first place in the district, but with plenty of games left to play. As the second-ranked 2A team in the state, they have high expectations.
Meanwhile, coach Mandy Montoya’s mindset remains the same — everything in the regular season is just to get ready for the state tournament. Even if the algorithm is not as high on their performance, with a very tough strength of schedule, all they need is a tournament berth — something that is at this point almost assured.
“All of this is preparing for March,” Montoya said. “We know that we can play with them.”
Mesa Vista got the hot start, scoring the game’s first eight points. But Peñasco came right back, starting with a basket and foul by Analise MacAuley, and they scored 10 straight points to take the lead. By the end of the first quarter, the Panthers led 18-14.
That was when foul trouble started to become an issue. Mesa Vista’s forwards, Kaelynn Trujillo and Brittni Suazo, both had three fouls by halftime. If they were to miss too much time, MacAuley could easily take over the game in the post.
Peñasco led by nine points late in the second quarter, but with just a few seconds left in the half Silva hit a 3-pointer and drew a foul while doing so, completing a four-point play. (Those were the only four points she would score before the fourth quarter, as Peñasco locked her down for much of the game.)
The Panthers hit a 3-pointer to start the second half, but from there Mesa Vista went on a bit of a run, with their defense improving. They forced turnovers and got stops without fouling.
At halftime, Mesa Vista made sure to focus on playing defense without fouling. While staying aggressive, they had to not reach in, and stay straight on shot contests.
Boies also picked up a warning from the bench during that quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, trailing by four, Silva hit an old-fashioned three-point play, her second momentum-changing play of the game. Tana Lopez followed with a 3-pointer, giving the Trojans their first lead since the first quarter. Mesa Vista scored 13 straight points before Peñasco scored in the fourth quarter.
“Shanae’s a born leader,” Boies said. He said that, after missing two crucial free throws in a game against Pecos, Silva has shot 30 extra free throws every day after practice. “That’s just stuff you can’t teach.”
Silva said she “got the chills” through the quarter.
“I stayed composed,” she said.
Peñasco struggled with turnovers throughout the fourth quarter, which Mesa Vista ultimately won 15-3. Silva had a 5-point run of her own with a basket, steal then 3-pointer, building a big lead that would prove to be enough.
Tana Lopez led Mesa Vista with 15 points, eight in the first quarter. Rochelle Lopez scored 16 for Peñasco.
Earlier, in junior varsity, Mesa Vista went up 10-0 in the first two minutes and won 60-25.
Mesa Vista should be in control next week with games at home against Mora (5-11, 0-4) and McCurdy (6-10, 1-3). The Lady Panthers will look to rebound on Feb. 8 at home against Questa (13-6, 3-1).
“Everyone’s bringing their best at us,” Boies said. “We’ve got to be ready for it, and resilient. There’s no more time to wait.”
Trojans Extend Win Streak
Mesa Vista’s boys team (15-4, 4-0) had no trouble cruising past Peñasco (5-14, 0-4) in a 73-54 win. The Trojans led 19-11 after one quarter and 38-22 by halftime.
Marcos Martinez led the Trojans with 16 points, and Jordan Gallegos added 14, while the bench played much of the second half. Peñasco had Angel Romero lead with 14 points.
Mesa Vista won the junior varsity game 66-45.
The Trojans next face Mora (9-9, 2-2) on Feb. 8, and then two days later host McCurdy (12-8, 3-1).