UPDATE: La Cueva, Volcano Vista, Hope, St. Pius among girls quarterfinal winners (with photos)

Mar. 7—Tuesday's all-girls basketball action at the Pit and the Rio Rancho Events Center of 16 games is complete.

On Wednesday, there are 24 games in all over three sites — the Pit, Rio Rancho Events Center and Bernalillo High. The brackets for all 10 classifications are found below.

The Journal's James Yodice will be covering each of the Class 5A boys quarterfinals on Wednesday. Meanwhile, he and other Journal contributors followed the reports below. — Randy Harrison

Hobbs, Volcano Vista and La Cueva will play on at the Class 5A girls state basketball tournament.

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So will Las Cruces — which was involved in the game of the day, authored the shot of the day, and posted the biggest upset of the tournament.

The Eagles survived a major scare from Sandia, Volcano Vista eliminated Centennial, and the Bears upset Carlsbad in Tuesday's early quarterfinals at the Pit.

The final game was an overtime thriller, with Las Cruces toppling No. 2 seed Farmington.

Thursday in the semifinals, Hobbs will face La Cueva at 9:45 a.m. Volcano Vista plays Las Cruces at 1:15 p.m.

No. 1 HOBBS 51, No. 8 SANDIA 43: Sophomore guard Nakia Mojica literally shot the Eagles (26-3) into the semifinals with a memorable performance down the stretch.

Trailing 40-39, Mojica scored five points on a single trip down the floor midway through the fourth quarter for Hobbs to put the Eagles in front 44-40, including a 3-pointer to cap the trip. She scored off the glass in the lane with 4;01 to go. She was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Teammate Brynn Hargrove rebounded the miss and kicked it out to Mojica who drained the 3 from in front of her bench a few seconds later to complete the robust, and crucial, sequence.

"We should have blocked out and got that rebound," Sandia coach Lindsey Kerwin lamented.

Moments later, Mojica buried the game-clinching 3, from the near corner, for a 51-40 lead with just over two minutes remaining.

That capped a clutch 12-0 run from which Sandia (22-9), which played a spirited and effective game, could not recover as Hobbs beat the Matadors for the second time this season. They also met in the Albuquerque metro final two months ago. The Matadors had a four-minute scoreless drought after they took that 40-39 lead on Sydney Benally's 3-pointer. It was probably her first open look from the arc the entire evening.

"Sandia is not an 8 seed," Hobbs coach Joe Carpenter said. "I don't care what anybody says."

Mojica was 5 of 9 from the arc and led Hobbs with 19 points.

"I just was very conficent," Mojica said. "... I had the hot hand in the first and second half."

Benally had 15 of her team-best 21 points in the second half for Sandia. Hope Giddings added 10 points and a team-best eight rebounds. Kerwin said her team "lost our legs. We ran out of gas."

Bhret Clay had 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Eagles. Kyndle Cunningham added nine points and 10 boards for Hobbs, which started five sophomores. Sandia started three sophomores and a freshman, plus one senior.

HOBBS 51, SANDIA 43

SANDIA (22-9): Amari Sanderson 1-3 2-4 4, Hope Giddings 4-14 1-2 10, Audri Wright 2-7 2-4 6, Sydney Benally 8-20 3-3 21, Chloe Brown 0-7 0-0 0, Martina Sando 1-1 0-0 2, Paige Garduno 0-0 0-0 0, Malia Meadowcroft 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-52 8-13 43.

HOBBS (26-3): Bhret Clay 6-10 0-0 12, Nakia Mojica 7-13 0-1 19, Brynn Hargrove 2-10 0-1 5, Kyndle Cunningham 3-8 3-5 9, Jayla David 1-6 2-2 4, Aliana Armitage 0-2 0-0 0, Kacelynn Muniez 1-3 0-0 2, Deziree Bosquez 0-0 0-2 0, Matysen Zepeda 0-0 0-0 0, Alana Bolton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 5-11 51.

Sandia 8 9 16 10 — 44

Hobbs 12 14 9 16 — 51

3-point goals: S 3-20 (Benally 2-4, Giddings 1-6, Wright 0-5, Brown 0-5); H 6-23 (Mojica 5-9, Hargrove 1-4, David 0-3, Clay 0-3, Armitage 0-2, Muniez 0-2). Rebounds: S 34 (Giddings 8); H 41 (Cunningham 10). Assists: S 7 (Wright, Benally 3); H 14 (Clay, Hargrove 4). Turnovers: S 12; H 18. Total fouls: S 14; H 14.

No. 7 LAS CRUCES 62, No. 2 FARMINGTON 60 (OT): Lila Ashida was the hero for the Bulldawgs (22-8), as she hit a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left in regulation that forced overtime. And she put her team ahead for good 27 seconds into the OT on a circus shot and three-point play. It was part of a 28-point night for the senior shooting guard.

"I just felt it," she said of the late 3 in the fourth quarter. "I knew my team would back me on the shot."

Farmington had three fouls to give, but the Scorpions, up 3, chose not to use one of them before Ashida launched the shot.

"We probably should have fouled," Farmington coach Tom Adair said.

The teams were tight throughout, although it was the Scorpions (25-4) that led by six, 50-44, with 3:26 to go in regulation.

Ashida hit a 3 to cut the margin to three, and Emma Christiano's layup made it 50-49 with 1:19 remaining.

Two Farmington free throws made it 52-49 with 11.9 seconds showing.

Coming out of a timeout, Ashida brought the ball into the offensive zone and squared up with a defender close by. She nailed the shot anyway.

"We thought our defense would probably be able to stop them," Adair said.

Farmington still had 7 seconds to try for a game-winner, but was unable to get off a shot.

As for the early three-point play in the overtime that put Las Cruces in front 55-52, Ashida smiled as she described the high-arcing shot from almost right under the basket — which swished right through — as "street ball."

Later in the OT, Farmington was down three at 57-54 and had multiple looks at a game-tying 3, but was unable to convert. A basket by Yesenia Baylon made it 59-54 for Las Cruces and the Scorpions were done.

"Dream come true," Las Cruces coach Lori Selby said after the victory. "For our kids, for our program. As a coach, you dream of moments like this."

Emma Christiano added 14 points and seven rebounds for Las Cruces.

Tinaya Parrish had a team-best 22 points for Farmington, and was 10 of 13 from the field. Kapiolani Anitielu added 14 points and six rebounds.

LAS CRUCES 62, FARMINGTON 60 (OT)

LAS CRUCES (22-8): Bethzy Quinones 2-6 0-0 5, Lila Ashida 11-22 2-3 28, Emma Christiano 5-15 4-4 14, Jayden Luna 0-0 0-0 0, Yasenia Baylon 4-6 0-0 8, Danae Pacheco 2-4 3-4 7. Totals 24-53 9-11 62.

FARMINGTON (25-4): Kamalani Anitielu 1-4 2-2 4, Tinaya Parrish 10-13 0-0 22, Kapiolani Anitielu 4-9 6-6 14, Kjani Anitielu 2-10 1-4 5, Maleah Charlie 3-11 0-0 9, Naveah Curley 1-2 0-0 2, Kaitlyn John 2-3 0-0 4, Skye Teasyatwho 0-0 0-0 0, Ayana Toledo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 9-12 60.

Las Cruces 7 20 13 12 10 — 62

Farmington 12 13 21 6 8 — 60

3-point goals: LC 5-14 (Ashida 4-11, Quinones 1-1, Christiano 0-1, Pacheco 0-1); F 5-23 (Parrish 2-3, Charlie 3-11, Kam.Anitielu 0-3, Kj. Anitielu 0-4, Kap.Anitielu 0-1, John 0-1). Rebounds: LC 35 (Ashida 11); F 27 (Kap.Anitielu 6). Assists: LC 13 (Christiano 7); F 19 (Kj.Anitielu 8). Turnovers: LC 21; F 18. Total fouls: LC 13; F 15.

No. 5 LA CUEVA 44, No. 4 CARLSBAD 26: The Bears (23-7) led from start to finish, and advanced with a convincing victory over the Cavegirls (24-6).

La Cueva's defensive pressure forced Carlsbad into nine first-quarter turnovers, and the Bears converted several of them directly into layups as they scored the first 10 points of the game. The struggling Cavegirls didn't score until the final 33 seconds of the quarter.

"We knew one of their strengths was that they had height, but we're really good about speeding teams up," La Cueva coach Marisa Cogan said.

Carlsbad shaved the deficit to 13-11 by halftime, with La Cueva only registering one field goal over the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half.

But La Cueva's unselfishness and scoring balance helped the Bears create separation in the third quarter, which was the Bears' best of the game. After making only six field goals out of 26 tries in the first half, La Cueva was 8 of 15 in that quarter. Jordyn Dyer had six points, and both Karleigh Gutierrez and Alexis Ayers drained 3-pointers. Ayers' was a 25-footer at the third-quarter buzzer, creating a 33-20 edge.

The Cavegirls were hamstrung offensively, with Allie Myers, one of their best players, in foul trouble throughout. She missed most of the second half, and Carlsbad missed her presence.

"Most definitely," La Cueva junior guard Eva Love said, asked if the Cavegirls looked to be laboring without her. "They always look for her on offense, and really didn't have anyone to look for (when she left the game)."

Myers, who only played 14 minutes, eventually fouled out with 5 1/2 minutes left.

"She brings a whole other dynamic to our team," Carlsbad coach Matt Enloe said. Even with her limited minutes, Myers still led her team with eight points, but only had three after the first quarter.

Ayers, Love and Dyer each scored 10 points for La Cueva. The Bears shot 50 percent (13 of 26) after halftime. Love also led La Cueva with 11 rebounds and four assists.

"We were so locked in," said Dyer.

The Bears posted an upset win at Farmington in the District 2-5A final just prior to the state tournament, and the Bears believe it propelled them into the playoffs, where they are now in the final four.

"Beating Farmington," Cogan said, "gave us confidence that we could beat anybody."

Carlsbad shot just 21.4% (9 of 42) from the field.

LA CUEVA 44, CARLSBAD 26

LA CUEVA (23-7): Alexis Ayers 4-13 1-2 10, Eva Love 5-17 0-0 10, Olivia Haddock 2-5 2-5 6, Jordyn Dyer 5-7 0-0 10, Karleigh Gutierrez 2-5 1-2 6, Toni Lucero 1-3 0-0 2, Ally Lyle 0-0 0-0 0, Tessa Updegraff 0-0 0-0 0, Kiuana Romero 0-0 0-0 0, Payten Sullins 0-0 0-0 0, Makayla Chavez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 4-9 44.

CARLSBAD (24-6): Abbey Dugan 1-10 0-0 2, Mariana Sepulveda 1-12 4-5 6, Kilea Estrada 0-4 0-0 0, Allie Myers 3-5 2-4 8, Carly Younger 1-3 0-0 3, Jasmynn Gonzales 2-7 0-1 5, Samantha Oliver 1-1 0-0 2, Stephanie Chavez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 9-42 6-10 26.

La Cueva 10 3 20 11 — 44

Carlsbad 5 6 9 6 — 26

3-point goals: LC 2-14 (Ayers 1-5, Gutierrez 1-2, Love 0-3, Lucero 0-2, Lyle 0-2); C 2-17 (Younger 1-1, Gonzales 1-2, Dugan 0-5, Sepulveda 0-5, Estrada 0-4). Rebounds: LC 41 (Love 11); C 31 (Younger 9). Assists: LC 9 (Love 4); C 7 (Sepulveda 3). Turnovers: LC 13; C 21. Total fouls: LC 15; C 12. Fouled out: C, Myers.

No. 3 VOLCANO VISTA 44, No. 6 CENTENNIAL 36:

Junior forward Taejhuan Hill scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as Volcano Vista (26-3) moved closer to its fourth consecutive 5A championship game.

"It's great to be in the final four," Volcano coach Lisa Villareal said. Her Hawks are 5A's two-time defending state champions. "It's what we strive for."

Volcano Vista took control of the game by scoring the final 10 points of the first half, which gave it a 26-10 lead at halftime. Hill had the final five points of that run, senior guard Storm Nguyen the first five, including a 3-pointer.

"I think we just focused on our offense, and got TT (Hill) the touches she needed," Villareal said of that second quarter.

Volcano Vista's defense forced Centennial into 15 first-half turnovers and just 13 field-goal attempts.

"We wanted to at least shorten up the court for them," Villareal said. "We didn't want to have them go down and pick us apart."

And even though Centennial had already seen Volcano Vista once this season, in early December, Volcano's pressure was troublesome for Centennial in the first half.

"You prepare for that press. You know it's coming. We thought we were prepared," Centennial coach Matt Abney said. "But it's a whole different thing when the lights are on (at the Pit)."

Centennial (21-9) briefly came to life at the start of the fourth quarter, with consecutive 3s by Joslyn Montez and Aspen Salazar cut the Volcano Vista lead to six at 30-24.

Coming out of a timeout, Hill scored from close range, and Lilliana Duncan added a short jumper to regain a double-digit lead (34-24). Centennial did not get closer than six points the rest of the way.

"I feel like (my basket) gave us the momentum we needed ... I feel like we got a little too comfortable," Hill said.

Salazar had team highs for Centennial — which only led once, at 1-0 — with 16 points, 10 boards and three assists. But Centennial suffered an early setback when one of its all-district players, Audi Torrez, left in the first minute of the game with a serious knee injury.

Centennial (37.1%) actually shot a higher percentage from the field than did Volcano Vista (12-44 for 27.3%). Volcano had a big edge at the free-throw line, outscoring Centennial by 13 points.

Volcano Vista and Farmington split two regular-season games, with each winning on the road.

— James Yodice

VOLCANO VISTA 44, CENTENNIAL 36

CENTENNIAL (21-9): Joslyn Montes 2-9 0-0 6, Casandra Holguin 0-0 0-2 0, Aspen Salazar 6-11 3-5 16, Aline Eres 2-9 0-0 6, Audi Torrez 0-0 0-0 0, Joy Hunt 0-1 2-2 2, Janessa Navarrete 3-4 0-2 6, Carley Flores 0-1 0-0 0, Elena Gonzales 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-35 5-11 36.

VOLCANO VISTA (26-3): Lilliana Duncan 2-5 3-8 7, Adriana Zavala 0-1 0-0 0, Mari Manzanares 1-5 6-6 8, Mila Espinoza 0-4 2-4 2, Taejhuan Hill 6-17 7-10 19, Storm Nguyen 3-9 0-0 8, Faith Ortiz 0-1 0-0 0, Jade Lovato 0-1 0-0 0, Elviria Encinias 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-44 18-28 44.

Centennial 3 7 8 18 — 36

Volcano Vista 7 19 4 14 — 44

3-point goals: C 5-19 (Montez 2-9, Eres 2-9, Salazar 1-1); VV 2-13 (Nguyen 2-5, Duncan 0-3, Espinoza 0-1, Hill 0-1, Manzanares 0-1, Lovato 0-1, Encinias 0-1). Rebounds: C 26 (Salazar 10); VV 38 (Hill 14). Assists: C 5 (Salazar 3); VV 8 (Manzanares 3). Turnovers: C 18; V 11. Total fouls: C 21; VV 19. Fouled out: C, Hunt, Navarrete. Technical: VV, Hill.

CLASS 4A GIRLS

NO. 4 HOPE CHRISTIAN 62, NO. 5 ARTESIA 48: The Huskies closed the game on a 15-5 run to pull away from the Bulldogs in a Class 4A quarterfinal on Tuesday at the Pit.

Hope advances to the semifinals, where it will play the Kirtland Central/Bloomfield winner on Thursday at the same venue at 8 a.m.

Artesia (19-9) closed to within 47-43 on a deep 3 by Koda Beltran with 5:30 to play. However, Hope (22-7) held the Bulldogs to just one field goal the rest of the way while converting 11 of 14 foul shots down the stretch. Four different Huskies converted at the charity stripe during the game-clinching run, and a three-point play by Alyssa Vigil with 1:23 to play gave Hope a 58-47 advantage to effectively end any hopes of an Artesia rally.

"I think it's taking care of the ball more than anything. Turnovers have hurt us in the past, but today our seniors really stepped up," Hope coach Michael Cole said. "The next part to that is our two freshmen (Zoe Mangrum and Mia Bishop) had big games. They really, really contributed and that's what we need."

The freshman duo of Mangrum and Bishop combined for 14 points while shooting 6-for-10 from the field. However, no Husky had a bigger game than senior post Kathleen Obisike, who narrowly missed an unconventional triple-double with 17 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high nine blocked shots. Obisike was a stabilizing force on both ends of the court but was especially valuable on defense, where she turned away multiple Artesia forays to the rim.

"I really just try my best to not let anyone score in the paint. That's my goal, usually," she said. "Obviously it happens, but I've been getting better with my blocks I think. I'm just always there for help."

Vigil tied Obisike with a game-high 17 points, while Charlotte Bitsoih chipped in 13 points and seven assists for the Huskies. Beltran was the only Bulldog in double figures with 16.

-Tristen Critchfield

Class 4A quarterfinals

NO. 4 HOPE CHRISTIAN 62, NO. 5 ARTESIA 48

ARTESIA (19-9 ): Audrey Velo 0-5 1-2 1, Koda Beltran 6-13 1-2 16, Kymber Beltran 2-10 4-5 9, Hattie Harrison 2-5 3-4 7, Lorin Wagner 2-7 1-4 5, Jenna Whitmire 2-7 4-4 8, Kailee Padilla 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 15-49 14-21 48.

HOPE CHRISTIAN (22-7):. Charlotte Bitsoih 2-7 9-10 13, Brookelynne Macias 0-4 1-2 1, Alyssa Vigil 7-14 1-2 17, Zoe Mangrum 2-4 2-2 6, Kathleen Obisike 8-18 1-3 17, Mia Bishop 4-6 0-0 8, Mary Piches 0-0 0-0 0, Isabel Richardson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-53 14-19 62.

Artesia 9 12 14 13—48

Hope 19 13 11 19—62

3-Point Goals—Artesia 4-12 (Velo 0-1, Koda Beltran 3-7, Kymber Beltran 1-4), Hope 2-9 (Bitsoih 0-3, Macias 0-2, Vigil 2-4). Fouled Out—Kymber Beltran. Rebounds—Artesia 36 (Whitmire 6), Hope 35 (Obisike 14). Assists—Artesia 9 (Kymber Beltran 5), Hope 16 (Bitsoih 7). Total Fouls—Artesia 18, Hope 14.

NO. 3 ST. PIUS 40, NO. 6 LOS ALAMOS 36: It was rarely pretty, but the Sartans will take an ugly victory over the alternative.

Catalina Anaya had a steal and two game-clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds to propel St. Pius (22-5) past the Hilltoppers (20-8) in a Class 4A quarterfinal on Tuesday. The Sartans will advance to play Gallup on Thursday at The Pit at 11:30 a.m.

"Sometimes they're not pretty, and it just comes down to one or two plays," said St. Pius coach Brio Rode. "Our kids have never not played really hard. The Pit, it's an amazing place and scary place if you've never been here. I'm just glad we came on this side of it...."

The Sartans had reason to be frustrated following a first half that saw them score 13 points and shoot 25 percent from the floor. St. Pius star Alyssa Maes battled early foul trouble and was held scoreless in the first half, but she helped jumpstart the Sartans by scoring all of her seven points in the third period.

"During halftime I definitely told myself that I had to turn up," Maes said. "I know that I put in the work. I just needed to trust myself and trust my teammates."

St. Pius led by as many as eight in the third period, but Los Alamos rallied to tie it by the end of the quarter. Down 38-36 in the last minute, the Hilltoppers had two chances to tie or take the lead in the waning moments. The first occurred when Abigail Martinez missed a wide open 3 after a Los Alamos steal. Shortly thereafter, GG Romero received an inbound pass on the St. Pius side of the court with 10 seconds to play, where she was swarmed on the baseline and had a pass intercepted by Anaya, who then converted both foul shots to seal the victory.

-Tristen Critchfield

NO. 3 ST. PIUS 40, NO. 6 LOS ALAMOS 36

LOS ALAMOS (20-8):Sofia Trujillo 3-4 0-0 7, Abigail Martinez 0-1 2-2 2, GG Romero 4-11 2-2 11, Carley Holland 4-7 0-1 8, Tara McDonald 2-8 2-2 6, Kaitlyn Velarde 0-1 0-0 0, Michelle Macias 1-2 0-0 2, Mackenzie Echave 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-34 6-7 36.

ST. PIUS (22-5):. Reagon Morris 3-6 1-4 7, Alyssa Maes 2-6 3-5 7, Marisol Valdez 3-12 3-4 11, Catalina Anaya 3-5 2-3 9 Desirey Ortiz 1-3 0-0 2, Bella Candelaria 0-3 0-0 0, Macy Freeze 2-4 0-0 4, Elena Valdez 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-39 9-16 40.

Los Alamos 8 6 14 8—36

St. Pius 4 9 15 12—40

3-Point Goals—Los Alamos 2-8 (Trujillo 1-2, Martinez 0-1, Romero 1-4, Holland 0-1), St.Pius 3-7 (Maes 0-1, M. Valdez 2-3, Anaya 1-1, Candelaria 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Los Alamos 26 (McDonald 6), St. Pius 24 (Maes 6). Assists—Los Alamos 10 (Romero 3), St. Pius 11 (Anaya 5). Total Fouls—Los Alamos 16, St. Pius 10.

No. 2 GALLUP 60, No. 10 VALENCIA 37: At the Pit, Bengals post Rylie Whitehair had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and teammate Daliyah Morris added 13 points and five steals among the 23 thefts Gallup (26-5) made in a convincing win over the Jaguars (19-11).

"Our kids can bring pressure," said Gallup coach Todd McBroom. "We have a lot of speed and quick hands and they get after it on the defensive end in the full court. And we always cause people a lot of problems."

Valencia was aware of the havoc the Bengals could wreak and tried to prepare for it, coach Micaela Medina said.

"We worked on our press offense a lot," Medina said. "We even had some boy players come in to kind of match the speed that were going to face. There is nothing I can do to truly simulate what it's going to be like on the court with their crowd and the intensity and it just being natural for Gallup playing in the Pit, and this is the first time we have ever experienced it."

That unfamiliarity with the Pit was evident early as in addition to be hounded defensively, Valencia was tossing up 3-pointers from well behind the collegiate arc.

"Our execution was really good, and I think we all were talking on defense and our defensive pressure was really good," Whitehair said.

As for the semifinal vs. St. Pius, "they're a good ball team and we're going to have to come to play or they'll beat us," McBroom said.

— Glen Rosales

No. 2 GALLUP 60, No. 10 VALENCIA 37

VALENCIA (19-11): Jadyn Montoya 3-11 4-5 11, Jaiden Montgomery 1-4 0-0 2, Francesca Otero 0-0 1-2 1, Azalia Malizia 4-15 2-2 12, Bailey O'Connor 0-0 2-2 2, Shosa McGregor 0-0 0-0 0, Kylee Ashley 1-2 0-0 2, Izabel Zamora 0-0 0-0 0, Mckayla Barca 1-1 0-0 3, Brooke Miller 0-0 1-2 1, Savannah Saavedra 0-0 0-0 0, Payton Yabeny 1-1 0-0 3, Eden Montgomery 0-0 0-1 0. Totals 11-36 10-14 37.

GALLUP (26-5): Kiera Livingston 4-12 0-0 10, Raven Tso 0-3 0-0 0, Daliyah Morris 4-10 2-2 13, Delia Tello 2-3 0-0 5, Rylie Whitehair 5-11 3-9 13, Yanibah Begay 1-2 2-2 5, Adriell Thomas 1-3 3-4 5, Kayden Tsosie 3-4 1-2 7, Ashlee Duboise 0-2 0-2 0, Bailey Mike 0-2 0-0 0, Alysha Slinkey 0-0 0-0 0, Summer Joe 1-4 0-0 2, Aniyah Dahozy 0-1 0-0 0, Raenna Chee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-57 11-21 60.

Valencia 5 4 5 23—37

Gallup 16 10 21 13---60

3-point FGs: V 5-17 (Malizia2-10, Barca 1-1, Yabeny 1-1 Montoya 1-4); G 7-16 (Morris 3-4, Livingston 2-6, Begay 1-1, Tello 1-2, Tso 0-2, Mike 0-1). Rebounds: V 31 (Malizia 8); G 38 (Whitehair 11). Assists: V 5 (Montoya 2); G 12 (Tello 4). Steals: V 7 (Montoya 6); G 23 (Begay 7). Turnovers: V 31; G 17. Total fouls: V 16; G 15. Fouled out: none.

No. 1 KIRTLAND CENTRAL 73, No. 8 BLOOMFIELD 31: At the Pit, Kirtland Central won for the third time this season over Bloomfield in a late game.

Class 3A girls

No. 4 TOHATCHI 48, No. 5 TUCUMCARI 23: At the Rio Rancho Events Center, Brooke Badonie led a balanced Tohatchi (22-9) attack with 10 points, and Tucumcari (20-7) was a woeful 5-of-46 from the field. July Lafferty had a game-high 13 rebounds for Tucumcari.

No. 1 ROBERTSON 56, No. 8 THOREAU 38: In Rio Rancho, Mistidawn Roybal led a balanced attack with 14 points as Robertson (28-1) in a contest that featured 55 turnovers, 32 by Thoreau. Colleen Moses-Perry's 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting led Thoreau (19-11), but the rest of the team went 8-of-40 from the field.

No. 2 NAVAJO PREP 49, No. 7 ST. MICHAEL'S 42: In Rio Rancho, Aniya Johnson scored a game-high 16 points, and her 16 rebounds keyed 26-3 Navajo Prep's domination on the glass in defeating St. Michael's (18-12). Madelyn Mossman had 11 points for St. Mike's, which was outrebounded 43-29.

No. 3 SANTA FE INDIAN 40, No. 6 SANDIA PREP 32: At the Rio Rancho Event Center, third-seeded Santa Fe Indian advanced to its second straight 3A girls' basketball final four. The Braves will play second-seeded Navajo Prep Thursday at 8:15 p.m. at the Rio Rancho Event Center.

"We have to figure out a way to stop the machine that is Navajo Prep," said Santa Fe Indian coach Teri Morrison. "...It's one game at a time, and the journey (this year) has been fantastic."

Emma Lewis, who sat much of the first half with foul trouble, had 11 points, six rebounds, and four assists to lead the Braves (22-7).

Lewis had back-to-back buckets within a 16-second span of the fourth, the latter with 2:21 remaining lifted her club to a 36-30 advantage.

Sandia Prep (19-10) finished the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 21-17 lead into halftime, but failed to score the first six minutes of the third quarter as the Braves rattled off the first 10 points to build a 27-21 lead.

Mika Juan had 18 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Sundevils.

— Patrick Newell

Class 2A girls

No. 4 CAPITAN 41, No. 12 PECOS 40: In Rio Rancho, Haileigh Brown had 19 points and 15 rebounds for Capitan (23-6), which rallied from 14 down in the first half to win. Kristina Ragland's 17 points and nine rebounds led Pecos (15-14).

No. 7 TEXICO 48, No. 2 MESA VISTA 38: In Rio Rancho, Catelyn Breshears had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Texico, which trailed 17-16 at the half but dominated the rest of the game by shooting 67 percent (10-of-15) from the field. Tan Lopez's 15 points led Mesa Vista, which shot 22 percent (12-of-54) from the field.

No. 1 ESCALANTE 53, No. 9 CLAYTON 42: In Rio Rancho, Brycelyn Martinez scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds for Escalante (21-7), which dominated after going into the fourth quarter down 36-35. Morgan Crisp led Clayton (21-9) with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

No. 3 LAGUNA ACOMA 55, No. 6 DULCE 33: In Rio Rancho, Gianna Carrillo had a game-high 17 points and Sylvia Gedman a game-high 17 rebounds for Laguna Acoma (20-9), which held Dulce to 21 percent shooting from the field. Sidneyanne Becenti's nine points led Dulce (21-9).

2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 5A

2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 4A

2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 3A

2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class 2A

2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships Class A