Tough Friday first-round road tests for Capital and St Michaels

Tough Friday first-round road tests for Capital in 5A and St. Michael’s in 4A, the 13th seeded Lady Horsemen head for 3rd seeded Gallup, and the 14th
seeded Jaguars travel to 4th seeded Shiprock Santa Fe Indian School is the No. 6 seed and is home to 11th seeded Socorro in 4A, 3rd seeded Pecos plays host to 9th seeded Tierra Encantada in 3A, and all five 2-4A schools invited to state tournament

By Arnie Leshin 

The Capital High and St. Michael’s girls are no doubt happy to get an invitation to the state basketball tournament, but they have a rough road when they travel for Friday’s first-round games.

The Jaguars (14-14) are the 14th seed in 5A and play at 3rd seed Gallup (18-10). The Lady Horsemen (10-17) are the 13th seed in 4A and travel to 4th seeded Shiprock (18-9).

But, there’s always concern when you have to take the road to face two of the more successful programs. The Broncos have won four state championships, the last in 2011. The Chiefs have won state five times, the last in 2002.

And when neither school didn’t win the title, they were both in contention. Gallup has won 20 games 10 times, Shiprock has done this 15 times. And both usually play tough schedules. This season, the Chiefs have defeated four out-of-state schools, the Broncos come out of a tough district.

And Shiprock has won seven in a row and 10 of its last 11, and Gallup has also played well down the stretch. That’s the dilemma Capital and St. Michael’s face. The Broncos return three starters, all of whom are in their third seasons. Shiprock returned a pair of starters, but it also has a strong bench and the experience of three 3-year players.

Then there are the fans of both schools. They usually draw well, especially at home, and visiting schools also need to contend with the rowdy crowds.
Espanola Valley (15-11), the 2-5A champion who defeated Capital 2-of-3 times, is home to a dangerous Belen (15-14) team. The 10th seeded Eagles come out of 3-5A where top-ranked Los Lunas defeated them 2-of-3 times. But they also played at Espanola on Jan. 18 and left with a 58-45 victory, so they know the way to Sundevil land.

Plus, 7 versus 10 always makes for a tight tussle and Belen is led by 3rd year senior forward Ally Aragon and 3rd year senior point guard Leandra Sanchez, as well as an experienced bench.

Gallup brings height, but two of them are freshmen, 6-foot-1 Everett Lansing and 5-10 Alana Johnson. The most experienced is 6-foot junior Marielynn Laniege, and the guard play is led by 5-6 Kyle McKinney and Sydney Valdez, who is in her third year on varsity.

Shiprpock doesn’t have as much size that Gallus has, but it has enough with 5-11 senior Joumey Gilson and 0-11 junior Ashley Antonio, and running the offense is 5-8 senior Moleigh, who also plays wing, and 5-foot junior Armanda Mitchell lines up at point guard.

The Capital-Gallup game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start, and St. Michael’s-Shiprock is slated to start at 6.

In 3A, Pecos (23-4) is the 8th seed and plays host to 9th seed Tierra Encantada (18-7), which is in the same district and has lost all four starts to the Panthers.

Las Vegas Robertson, the 2nd seed and 2-4A champion, has an impressive 24-3 mark and gets another visit from district foe Taos (7-19), the 15th seed that didn’t pose a problem to the Cardinals in the regular season. There are five schools from the same district in play, Robertson, Taos, St. Michael’s, West Las Vegas and Pojoaque Valley.

The Elkettes (21-5) are the 7th seed and are home to 10th seed Cobre (15-10). The Dons (15-10) enter as the 9th seed and with a tough test at 8th seeded Albuquerque Hope Christian, which is 13-15 with a strong schedule.

Santa Fe Indian School (21-4) felt it should have gotten a higher seed than No. 6, but it does have home court Friday versus 11th seeded Socorro (23-7), and that could be a tough test.

In 2A, Elmer Chavez’ 2nd seeded Mescalero Apache (20-1) plays host to 5th seeded Escalante (12-13). It was in 2014 that Chavez coached then-4A Santa Fe High to the state championship, and he has really turned the Chiefs’ program around.