St. Michael's outlast Lady Hilltoppers in defensive battle
Nov. 23—Girls basketball
St. Michael's 34, Los Alamos 33
What happened: Points were hard to come by in the second half of both team's regular season opener Tuesday in Perez-Shelly Gymnasium. St. Michael's overcame a 22-14 deficit in the second quarter to pull within 25-24 at the half, then held the Lady Hilltoppers to just eight points the rest of the way. St. Michael's only scored 10, but the most important score was the free throw Lauryn Pecos hit with 1:04 left in the game to break a 33-all tie. "We did a good job mixing up our defenses a little bit," Lady Horsemen head coach Sonya Ruiz said.
Top players: Pecos led all scorers with 12 points, while Maddy Mossman had 10 rebounds. Los Alamos had Sophia Trujillo and GG Romero each score eight.
What's next: St. Michael's heads to Academy for Technology and the Classics on Nov. 29. Los Alamos has its home opener on the same day against Escalante.
Pojoaque Valley 38, Abq. Del Norte 36
What happened: The Elkettes got off to a slow start in the second half, as the Lady Knights outscored them 13-7 to take a 31-25 lead into the fourth quarter of both teams' season opener in Albuquerque. However, Pojoaque head coach Jonathan Salazar said the team found its groove, especially on the defensive end, which is a product of having a full offseason to work on the second-year coach's system. "You can just tell they are more comfortable with the system," Salazar said."They're moving the ball better on offense and communicating better on defense. It just comes with time."
Top players: Kaylee Salazar led Pojoaque with 12 points, while Amaya Gonzales added nine. Bleona Agushi led the Lady Knights with 14 points.
What's next: Pojoaque entertains Santa Fe Indian School on Nov. 29.
