It’s been a season of slow starts so far for the Pojoaque Elkettes. Although the Elkettes have a winning record, 5-2, they have had to come from behind in each of their five wins and have fallen behind early in each loss.
In the Elkettes’ first lost since March 2008, they were outscored 20-5 in the first half by Española Valley Dec. 12 at Grants. Despite a strong comeback, Pojoaque could not overcome this deficit. In a 61-48 loss to Socorro Dec. 19 at Pojoaque, the Elkettes were run out of the gym 20-6 in the first quarter and couldn’t recover.
“We’re making poor decisions on offense right off the bat,” Pojoaque coach Lanse Carter said. “At practice, we’ve looked at making good decisions on offense.”
This year’s team is still looking for its identity.
The Elkettes lost three key players to graduation from the team that went undefeated on its way to winning the 2009 Class AAA state title. Gone is the scoring and rebounding of Jackie Bartleson, the floor leadership of guard Ellen Cruz and the double-digit scoring of Janelle Roybal.
The team’s only returning starters are guards Dionna Montoya and Marissa Romero, and it relies more on their outside shooting than in years past. When the three-pointers aren’t going in, Pojoaque struggles to score.
New starters Audrey Smith, Kiana Vigil and Liz Gomez are still finding themselves, along with sixth player Cheyenne Cordova, a freshman who enters the game when coach Lanse Carter wants to go with a quicker and smaller lineup.
“These players know what good basketball feels like and know what good basketball is,” he said. “When we start to (click), we’ll recognize it.”
Pojoaque still plays good pressure defense that creates turnovers. That defense has enabled them to overcome their early scoring problems in their five victories.
District 2AAA promises to be a real dogfight this year. West Las Vegas, Robertson and Santa Fe Indian School all look capable of dethroning the Elkettes, the reigning champions. St. Michaels may be in the mix as well, although Pojoaque beat the Lady Horsemen earlier this season 34-28 at the Grants Tournament.
West Las Vegas is 6-0 and last season was the team that came the closest to knocking off Pojoaque, losing 53-50 at Pojoaque. Robertson has a fine point guard in Daniela Montoya and a strong power forward in Kassandra Tapia. The Lady Braves boast a team with the ability to score inside or outside.
Whether Pojoaque can take home another district title may depend on whether the team can learn how to get out of the gate quicker.