Contrary to how she looks on the court, Rochelle Lopez does, in fact, get nervous.
When the sophomore has two free-throw tries in a tie game with 17 seconds left in double overtime, after already hitting two incredible game-tying shots at the end of regulation, it’s nearly a panic.
“I was just praying, man,” Lopez said. “I just get so nervous. But I know that I can do it. So I focus and do it.”
And yet she delivered. Both attempts hit nothing but net.
Lopez’s late-game heroics led No. 6 seed Peñasco (20-11) to an incredible 42-40 double-overtime win over No. 2 Tatum (27-3) in the 2A state semifinal on Thursday in Rio Rancho. They will play on Friday for the championship, where they are 0-4 in program history.
“March,” was just about all Peñasco Coach Mandy Montoya could say about the game. “That’s it, March. Those games didn’t matter, it was all preparation.”
Lopez was quiet for much of the game, with just three points in the first half. But with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation, she threw up a floater while going to her left and got it to go to tie the game, forcing overtime.
Then, in overtime, with under 10 to play and needing a 3-pointer, she came up big again. Lopez called for a screen and pulled up on the wing from behind the professional line. Swish.
“I went for it,” Lopez said. “I knew I had to do it. One of us had to step up. It went up and went in.”
Senior Analise MacAuley finished the game with 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, the biggest of which came with a minute left in double overtime. Lopez finished with 15 points as well. And also giving a big effort was senior Charnelle Gonzales, who did not go to the bench in all 40 minutes.
“If Char (Gonzales) could play two more games, she probably would,” Montoya said. “She does everything for us. It may not show up on the stat line, but … she can just do everything on the floor.”
As a team, Peñasco turned the ball over 31 times, and took 26 fewer shots total. But they won the rebounding battle 42-29 and forced Tatum into bad looks, as the Coyotes shot just 25 percent in the game.
Peñasco scored first, and went up 10-4 in the first quarter. Then they went ice cold. The second quarter had three Tatum points and three Peñasco points, and the Panthers went into half up by four.
But Tatum tied it in just 25 seconds in the second half, and would lead most of the rest of the way. At one point late, they were up by five, and tried to run down the clock. Lopez drew a foul with a minute left and hit two free throws to get within one. Then, she tied the game to force overtime, as Tatum missed a good look at the buzzer.
In overtime, Tatum held the ball most of the first two minutes, but did not score until Peñasco did first. Then the Coyotes took a one-point lead on free throws.
Peñasco missed two opportunities: one when Alyssa Atencio overthrew an open MacAuley in transition, and another when Charnelle Gonzales grabbed a steal but Alexuis Romero couldn’t control her pass.
Peñasco was forced to foul, and Tatum went up by three. But Lopez sent the game to double overtime with the aforementioned deep shot.
In double overtime, Alyssa Atencio, who had just one point in the game to that point, started with a 3-pointer for the lead. Finally, Peñasco could play from ahead.
In their memory was a triple-overtime game against Pecos back at the Northern Rio Grande tournament. Near the end, Montoya spotted Pecos’ Natalia Stout sitting courtside, and said something to the effect of, ‘This is just like our game!’
Tatum tied the game with under a minute left, but Lopez drew a foul on the ensuing possession, and put Peñasco ahead with under 20 to play. Tatum turned the ball over with six seconds left and were too slow to foul, giving the Panthers the win.
The Panthers will play in the state final at The Pit in Albuquerque on Friday at 5 p.m. and will face the winner between Mesa Vista and Tularosa.
“It’s us against us right now,” Montoya said. She did not yet know if the team would come back to the arena in the evening to watch that game. “We’re going to go enjoy the moment.”
Peñasco last played in The Pit in 2020. No fans were at the game. Both MacAuley and Gonzales were eighth graders, on the varsity roster and on the back of the bench.
“Beyond eerie,” Montoya said of that experience. “I don’t know any feeling other than eerie. Like straight out of a movie.”
This time, with the potential for an all-northern final, the crowd will provide quite the roar.