Girls Basketball: Mesa Vista 55, Taos 51
There was a loud environment at Otero Gymnasium, with Taos fans chanting “overrated” as the Lady Trojans ran onto the court. Over the next 32 minutes of game action, they proved that was not the case.
Mesa Vista (3-0) made a statement win in their second game of the season, with a huge upset over Taos (0-3) on Dec. 8.
The Taos Tigers entered the season coming off of a 4A state quarterfinal appearance and 22-win season, looking to repeat on that and compete in their district (Mesa Vista competes in 2A with about one-eighth the total enrollment).
“We came out strong from the get go,” Mesa Vista coach Jesse Boies said.
The Trojans jumped out to an early lead, and went up by 14 points in the second quarter before leading 31-21 at halftime.
Taos made a run in the second half, and tied the game at 37-37 early in the fourth quarter.
But Mesa Vista led wire-to-wire, and finished the game with an 18-point fourth quarter to grab the win.
Boies said it was a rough game, but praised the team’s defensive tenacity. They had a full rest day the following day, a Friday, before a Saturday game.
Tana Lopez led the team with 16 points, while Amarissa Quintana had 15. Bella Boies had seven assists.
The Trojans took down Cuba (0-2) on Dec. 10 54-34 behind 30 team steals, nine from Bella Boies.
Mesa Vista will compete in the Pojoaque Ben Lujan Tournament, with their first game another 4A test against Moriarty (5-2).
“We’re here, we’re not going anywhere,” Jesse Boies said.
Mesa Vista’s boys team (3-1) lost 71-32 at Taos (3-1), and won 65-51 at home against Cuba (1-5).
McCurdy Boys Sixth at Tularosa Tournament
The McCurdy Bobcats (2-4) went 1-2 over the weekend at the J. May Classic in Tularosa, facing southern New Mexcio teams.
McCurdy lost its first-round game 52-50 to Cobre (3-5) —who finished second, losing in the tournament final — when they could not find a good shot on their final possession.
The Bobcats logged a good win in the consolation bracket, winning 53-47 over Loving (1-3), and they then lost in the consolation final to Ruidoso (3-2) 47-43.
Española Wrestlers Compete in Santa Fe
Two Española Valley High School wrestlers won their bracket at the Al Salazar Invitational at St. Michael’s High School on Dec. 10.
Cruz Sandoval won first place in the 139-pound weight class, and Kyle Coffeen won first place at 160 pounds.
Landon Atencio won second place at 114 pounds, and Noah Maez was second in 152 pounds. Chiro Barrito won third place at 121 pounds.
Pojoaque Valley’s Adryan Triana was the first-place winner in the 172-pound class, beating wrestlers from Taos, Bernalillo and Tucumcari. Andres Garcia (160 pounds) and Jerome Martinez (215) both made the semifinals before losing.
The Pojoaque Valley girls dueled with Española on Dec. 6 —Española’s Kianna Moreland defeated Izabela Lujan in the 235-pound category in the day’s competitive match. Pojoaque had Alexis Archuleta, Natalie Romero, Alaiyah Vigil and Maria Talache win via forfeit.
Sundevil Bowlers Win Tournament
The Española Valley rookie bowling team won first place at the Dec. 10 tournament held at Española’s Big Rock Bowl lanes.
The Sundevil third team posted a total score of 1,855, narrowly beating out Volcano Vista for first place, with a team of Victoria Vigil-Duran, Marcus Bustamante, Isaiah Guinn, Aiden Guinn and Anika Calvert. Vigil-Duran was the top individual scorer for the Sundevils with a 244 across two games.
The Española Valley second team won third place in the novice division. And the top team finished eighth overall.
The Pojoaque Elks finished fourth place in the advanced division, and their second team won first place in the intermediate division.
Girls: Escalante 61, Tohatchi 55
The Lady Lobos (4-1) continued a great start to the season with a big win over Tohatchi (4-3), beating a team that had defeated 4A defending state runner-up Gallup a week prior.
Brycelyn Martinez continued her supernova season with 23 points, nine rebounds, six assists and six steals. She currently leads the state averaging 5.4 steals per game, and is averaging nearly 19 points. Escalante trailed at halftime, but went ahead with an 18-11 third quarter.
Escalante next plays at Navajo Prep (6-2) on Friday, seeking to avenge their only loss of the season.