The Española Valley girls took travel difficulties to new heights for the opening round of the high school state basketball tournament as Friday’s blustery conditions in the north were downright dangerous down south.
Blowing dust so restricted travel that I-10 was shut down, as was the Hatch Highway (NM 26).
But the Lady Sundevils took it all in stride. The team had gone Thursday night to Las Cruces to meet with the New Mexico State women’s team, which befriended the girls during summer training. Española watched the Lady Aggies play Louisiana Tech, seeing favorite player Molly Kaiser go off for 35 points.
“It was really exciting for the girls,” coach Ray Romero said.
But leaving three hours before their game the next day in Deming turned out to be exciting in another way.
“We got stuck in a truck stop for awhile,” the coach said. “It was a little nerve-wracking for the girls. But we finally got there. The game started late, about 6:15. I guess the refs weren’t there either because of the road closures.”
Many of the players spent the time on their phones trying to reach friends and family to see how their travel was going.
“The girls, got down, walked around. We chatted a little bit,” Romero said. “They were fine. It wasn’t too bad. I had two coolers of fruits and snacks so some of them ate a little bit.”
As soon as the bus was halted, Romero said he called Athletic Director Matthew Abeyta, who tried to work some magic.
He eventually was able to help secure a police escort, which guided a convoy of about 20 to 30 cars that were also stuck.
The team and refs eventually arrived without incident.
“It was an interesting trip,” Romero said with a chuckle. “We had parents stuck in Hatch. Some of the assistant coaches went around the other way and they got stuck. The interstate was actually closed in three different places.”