Capital drops two games at Grants Tournament
Dec. 19—Girls basketball
Grants 59, Capital 41
Rio Rancho 57, Capital 18
What happened: The Lady Jaguars had a doubleheader to cap the Eddie Peña Classic in Grants on Saturday, but they struggled to slow the Lady Pirates and the Lady Rams. In the first game, Grants scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to pad a 35-28 lead after Capital cut into a 15-point halftime deficit. Rio Rancho jumped out to a 23-8 lead after one quarter, then held the Lady Jaguars to just one point in the second for a 39-9 lead at the break.
Top players: Annalise Leos had 15 points against Grants, and Abriana Mares scored 12. Leos and Amerie Romero each had five points against the Lady Rams.
What's next: Capital (3-7) goes back on the road Tuesday to play Las Vegas Robertson.
Socorro 47, St. Michael's 44
What happened: Once again, first-quarter woes proved to be too much for the Lady Horsemen to overcome. For the third straight game, they scored three points, and trailed the Lady Warriors 16-4 in the White bracket consolation game of the Ben Luján Tournament in Pojoaque. St. Michael's picked it up in the second quarter and cut the margin to 23-18 at the break, but Socorro pushed the lead back up to 39-31 heading into the fourth.
"We kept at it," Lady Horsemen head coach Sonya Ruiz said. "We got it down to five [in the fourth], down to four, then down to three, but we could never get any closer."
Top players: Lauryn Pecos had 19 points to lead St. Michael's, and Lily Rodriguez and Carmen Pacheco each had seven.
What's next: The Lady Horsemen (3-5) play Bernalillo at home on Wednesday.
Los Alamos 42, Belen 15
What happened: Once again, lockdown defense led the way for the Lady Hilltoppers, who didn't allow the Lady Eagles more than six points in any quarter in a nondistrict game in Griffith Gymnasium. Meanwhile, the work Los Alamos is putting into improving its offense is showing signs of paying off, as it built a 22-9 lead at the half before using a 12-2 scoring run in the third quarter to make it 34-11.
"Everyone is involved defensively, but our underclassmen are becoming more confident and consistent scorers," Lady Hilltoppers head coach Ray Romero said.
Top players: Junior Carley Holland led Los Alamos with 11 points, while freshman GG Romero scored eight and sophomore Abby Martinez added seven.
What's next: The Lady Hilltoppers (5-4) get a 10-day layoff before playing Albuquerque Hope Christian in the opening round of the Lady Horsemen Christmas Tournament at St. Michael's on Dec. 28
Boys basketball
Abq. Bosque School 66, Mesa Vista 64
What happened: The Trojans went toe-to-toe with Class 3A's second-ranked team, according to MaxPreps.com's rankings, but the Bobcats took the last shot and made it in the White bracket final of the Ben Luján Classic at Pojoaque. Mesa Vista rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final minutes to tie the score at 64-all with 30 seconds left. A jump-ball situation with 3.2 seconds left gave Bosque School the ball under its own basket and an alley-oop layup broke the tie.
"I'm disappointed, but I feel pretty good," Mesa Vista head coach Richard Apodaca said. "I'm proud of my kids. We came out and defended and battled and we made shots. It was a heck of a game."
Top players: The Bobcats were led by Kyle Morris' 21 points, while Anthony Sanchez added 14. The Trojans had a trio of double-digit scorers, with Brandon Sandova leading the way with 18 points, Jordan Cervantes adding 13 and eight grader Jordan Gallegos 11.
What's next: The 2021 portion of the schedule is complete for Mesa Vista (7-1), but they will likely be the top seed for the Northern Rio Grande Tournament that begins on Jan. 6.
