By Ari Levin
SUN Sports Writer
The Española Valley Sundevils take on the state basketball tournament this week and look to find success. Neither boys, nor girls team lost a district game this year, and both received high seeds to host a first-round game at Edward Medina Gymnasium.
Last year, the Sundevil girls were 19-10 overall, and despite a district championship they only drew a No. 8 seed in the state tournament, and then fell in the first round by four points to Bloomfield. This year, though, a more mature team has been dominant all season long and claimed a No. 2 seed.
The boys team, meanwhile, took down Kirtland Central as a No. 7 seed in the Round of 16 off a 14-3 run to close the game. But they were overmatched against Gallup in the quarterfinals at The Pit, and lost by 25. This year, they’ll look to advance further, as a No. 4 seed.
“I think we’re well-tested,” said Española coach Gabe Martinez. “I think we had a really tough pre-district schedule. Our district has shown really well across the state, we’ve had three teams consistently in the Top 10.”
Lady Sundevils
The Lady Sundevils finished the regular season at 11-1, with the lone loss being a disappointing one to Cleveland, though the No. 5 5A team is no slouch. Non-district wins include both the No. 2 and No. 6 seeds in 3A.
Half of their 12-player roster are seniors, and Estrada has said that with their leadership he is not worried about complacency becoming a factor, even as they won every district game by an average of 45 points.
Kianna Duran is the team’s starting center and is a strong post defender and rebounder, and can take shots when called upon but rarely is the primary option.
Cameron Conners, one of juniors from Santa Fe Indian School (the other being Jordan Torres), has provided the post depth that the Sundevils needed. She is a more aggressive scorer than Duran, scoring in double digits multiple times this season off the bench.
Destiny Valdez has the length and quickness to defend forwards and create havoc. She also has an automatic outside shot which has gotten her notice from colleges, and her point tallies are almost always in multiples of three. When she gets hot, she will not miss.
“Everybody’s a guard on this team,” Valdez said before the season. And in many ways, that is true, with the exception of Conners and Duran. Even including those two, all will take deep shots, though they are generally reluctant to shoot off the dribble.
Jasmaine Baca leads the team in scoring, at 10.5 points per game (though that being less than one-sixth of the team’s total points proves the balance) and it is easy to see why from watching her. She can cut to the basket between however many defenders she wants, or can pull up from the outside, and she is not a selfish player either. She also contributes a key part of the defensive press by hounding an inbounds pass.
Miranda Salazar plays point guard and dishes out assists as often as she takes 3-pointers, which is often. She is right behind Baca at 10.2 points per game. She also plucks passes at will (according to Maxpreps, she averaged 5.4 steals in the eight games where stats have been recorded, including ten against Capital.)
Anita DeAguero has an aggressive outside shot, and loves to use the threat of that to catch a defender off guard and slash to the basket.
The depth of the team allows for the starters to get rest throughout a game without sacrificing a lead.
Jordan Torres is often the quickest player on the court, and so she fills right in defensively and creates steals, and she also has a smooth 3-point stroke.
Rihanna Padilla and Chris Sandoval both can come off the bench to hit shots and defend the wings. Roxane DeLeon plays sparingly but has the height to defend in the post. And Faith Maestas and Rozlyn Baca both spent time on varsity this season before playing with the junior varsity team.
Analysa Pacheco has been out since a concussion on April 17, but coach Joe Estrada said she is released to play this week.
“Live by the 3, die by the 3” is the saying, but so far it has not cost the Sundevils. Even in games where they have struggled shooting, they have still been able to force enough turnovers and score points in transition.
When they get hot, they simply will not miss and continue to pour points on the scoreboard. And opponents can get frustrated when they cannot even get a shot up before a steal and start to compound their errors. When those two things are both working, which they have been all season with very few exceptions, they can beat anyone and do it by impressive margins.
As the No. 2 seed, they are as big a threat as any to go all the way.
Sundevils
The Sundevil boys basketball team finished the season at 9-3 overall. Their three losses came early in the season and all to 5A teams; the Clovis loss was in double overtime and could easily have gone another way. And they had a chance to face Cleveland High School, the No. 1 ranked team in the state, though they lost by 51.
The frontcourt depth has been a constant strength for the team. Ollie Fell, listed at 6-feet-6-inches tall, is extremely talented and when he finds a rhythm can score in the post with ease. He also brings immense energy to the team, and though he has drawn a couple of technical fouls for taunting or excessive celebrations, that is sometimes what the team needs to gain momentum.
Melaki Jones is one of the team’s strongest defenders, and has started some games while coming off the bench in others. Against taller teams, he can pair well with Fell, and like all players on the team he has the ability to knock down an outside shot if given the opportunity, though he will usually stay in the post.
Anthony Law plays a forward or hybrid position, and is a very strong rebounder who provides big contributions defensively with the ability to score when needed.
Juan Branch commands the point guard position as the leader of the team, and is another strong defender who does not always light up the box score but has the ability to create a scoring run, though he is often happier to give the points to others and add to his own assist total.
Garrett May plays the wing and is the team’s leading scorer. He has a strong outside shot that he will take at any opportunity and can score easily at any level. May is also the aggressive defender who will often snipe a pass and go the other way.
Jordan Duda also starts and can score at any point, though more than May he will often take the 3-point attempt.
Ricky Padilla is often the first player off the bench, though in some recent games he has played a majority of minutes at point guard, and is an aggressive defender on the outside with a strong ability to cut to the rim and score.
Marin Rodriguez started the team’s first game but has found a consistent role off the bench as a somewhat perfect 3-and-D player with a quick trigger from outside making him a threat to score any time he’s on the court.
Adding to the frontcourt depth, Joshua Coriz is sometimes a third center option behind Fell and Jones, but he also has provided quality minutes at several points this season, including an 11-point performance in a win against Pojoaque. Mathias Garcia can play a power forward position, and has spent some games on the bench but has been called upon and delivered in some big moments, such as against Clovis when he entered for the first time in the game in overtime.
And a 15-player roster goes fairly deep, but additional young guards include Jayden Martinez, Juan Orozco, Marques Martinez, Justin Sanchez and Andray Lujan-Paña. All can contribute when called upon.
The Sundevils are strongest when they are clicking on defense. They do not often rely on an aggressive press, but can disrupt offenses in the halfcourt and prevent anyone from entering the post. When they stay strong on defense, the points flow from there.
If they can succeed defensively, they can beat anyone.
“This group is battle tested, and we’re ready to go,” said Gabe Martinez.