Playing at home, Santa Fe High and Capital provided a tough challenge before losing to the top two teams in District 5-5A Wednesday night, the Demonettes to first place Albuquerque Sandia, the Jaguars against runner-up Albuquerque High

The Santa Fe High basketball girls made a good try of extending first place visiting Albuquerque Sandia in District 5-5A play Thursday night, and Capital hung with visiting Albuquerque High, and both scores were almost identical.

But both lost, the Demonettes 52-41, and the Jaguars 52-42. Santa Fe High, 8-14 overall and 0-5 in district, even held a 21-20 halftime lead, but could manage only five third quarter points and the Matadors, the only team in the district that stands above .500, took a slim 33-26 advantage in the fourth quarter.

In the final eight minutes, Sandia (17-4, 7-0) outscored the home team 19-15 and converted 10-of-18 free throws in that span.

As for Capital (8-14, 3-3), it trailed 26-17 at the half, and the second place Bulldogs (10-11, 6-1) maintained the lead while the Jaguars kept chasing. Capital junior Rebecca Sorensen had the game-time 17 points.

In 2-2A played at Christian Life in Santa Fe, visiting Academy of Technology and The Classics girls won their third in a row disposing of visiting Tierra Encantada (1-11, 1-2) by the score of 46-24, upping their overall record to a program-best 11-8 and remaining in second plae behind defending champion Espanola McCurdy at 3-1, and the two meet again in the regular-season finale at ATC.

The Phoenix, under new head coach Ron Drake, have now outscored its opponents 684-594, and will again play the Alacranes Saturday at Christian Life. ATC held only a 17-12 lead after one quarter, but its defense and domination of the backboards put the game out of reach.

Phoenix eighth grader Perla Miramontes had the game-high 21 points and added a dozen rebounds. Junior Naomi Lujan and 8th grader Charli Koseoglu scrubbed the boards for 16 rebounds each.

In 2-3A, Santa Fe Indian School (18-6, 4-2) won a tight one at Robertson, 57-55, to drop the defending state champion Cardinals to 10-12, 3-2, and at West Las Vegas, it was an overwhelming 73-17 romp over Raton as the Dons improved to 15-7 and 5-1 and in first place, while the Tigers are now 3-17 and 1-6.