Española Valley coach Ron Drake stood and applauded the Lady Sundevils as time expired on the Lady Sundevils’ 54-38 victory over Los Alamos in the District 2AAAA tournament championship game in Española.
Española captured its second straight District 2AAAA title with the win and capped another successful season that also included the district regular season title.
“This is awesome for these kids,” Drake said.
When Drake took over the Española program in 2007, the Sundevils were coming off a 0-27 season. Melanie Vigil, a freshman on that winless team, could scarcely believe what the Sundevils had accomplished since then.
“I never expected it,” the senior said. “Now it’s here and it feels great.”
Vigil was the catalyst in a 14-2 run in the third quarter that broke open what had been a tight game in the first half. Española was clinging to a 21-20 halftime lead when Vigil buried two three-pointers to start the third quarter. She was fouled on the second three-pointer and drained the ensuing free throw for a four-point play that gave Española a 28-22 lead. Vigil led the Sundevils with 14 points.
“I figured we needed (three-pointers) and this was the district championship,” she said. “I gotta start hitting them sooner or later.”
Justine Vigil (no relation) finished what Melanie Vigil started by knocking down a three-pointer that gave the Sundevils a 37-22 lead. The long-range bombs were a welcome sight to Drake, whose team missed five layups in the first half.
“I turned around and said to the bench, ‘We can hit three’s but can’t make layups,’” he said. “We practice layups every single day. Maybe I shouldn’t practice them so much.”
Missing many of those easy shots was the Sundevils’ leading scorer Nisa Duran, who spent more time on the bench than she was accustomed to in the second half. Duran finished with 10 popints and was named Co-Player of the Year in District 2AAAA along with Los Alamos’ Taylor Ealey. Ealey led the Hilltoppers with 16 points.
“My team stepped up, and I’m proud of us,” Duran said. “We want to play in the Pit.”
The Sundevils will need to beat Silver City Friday at home in the opening round of the Class AAAA state tournament to advance to the quarterfinals and a chance to play in the University of New Mexico’s Pit.
The Sundevils received the fourth seed in the tournament despite having more wins than any other team in Class AAAA. The 13th-seeded Colts finished the season 15-10 and as District 3AAAA runnerup.
“We should have gotten the third seed,” Drake said. “I’ll be scrambling for tapes (of Silver).”