SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Still upset over losing a game last year it knew it could have won in regulation, but turned out to losing in overtime to Pecos in the 2A state girl’s championship game, Elmer Chavez‘ Mescalero Apache team is just rolling along as the top team in its class.
The Chiefs are undefeated in 10 starts, all but one in mercy-rule style, and they now take on Laguna-Acuma Friday in the semifinals of the Striking Eagle tournament after trouncing Cuba’s TseYi‘ Gai, 65-34, Thursday, at host Cuba High. Only one contest for Chavez‘ girls have been what you’d call on the close side, that a 44-34 win over Fort Sumner.
Chavez, who coached the Santa Fe High girls to the state 4A title in 2014, had no seniors on last year’s team, now has four along with four juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.
The leading scorer with a 15.6 per game average is 5-foot-6 senior FallonVelasquez, and she also leads in rebounds. No. 1 in assists with 5.5 a game is senior guard Ramona Fossum, and tops in steals at 3.5 is junior guard Brynn Martinez.
In last year’s final against Pecos, Mescalero Apache was down by two points in the final seconds when a Chief on the other side of the court fired the ball to freshman Bianca Artiaga under the other basket, and she laid it in for her only only points of the game, and was fouled.
Now it was tied, and with a chance to win it from the foul line, Artiaga stood there while the officials were checking the time remaining at the table, which took about 10 minutes Chavez said, and when it read 0:3 seconds, Artiaga was handed the ball and it rimmed the front of the basket as the buzzer sounded. In OT, the Panthers won by six.
Laguna-Acuma is 5-2 and has big victories and big losses. Thursday, it rolled over Cuba, 49-17, and also defeated Academy of Technology and The Classics now coached by Ron Drake, last season’s head coach at Pecos.
But when all was said and done, it was the Chiefs making Laguna-Acumaanother victim handily winning 71-44, for victory number 11.
In the annual Lady Horsemen Holiday tournament at St. Michael’s Friday the host Lady Horsemen advanced to 6-5 with their third win in the last four starts by romping over district rival Raton in the first round, 52-17. it was never close as St. Michael’s took a commanding 21-4 lead after one quarter.
The Lady Horsemen head into the same-day semifinals against Albuquerque Sandia Prep, which got past Taos, 43-39, and in the other semis, Pecos takes on Espanola Valley. The Panthers opened with a 52-39 win over Los Alamos and the Sundevils followed by disposing of Santa Fe High, 37-30.
The tourney was originally scheduled to start on the usual Thursday, but was changed to Friday due to Thursday being the day after Christmas. The finals will be played Saturday, with St. Michael’s having won this tournament only once and Espanola having won it three straight times under three different head coaches.
After play resumed with the semis, Espanola Valley (7-4) gained the title game by edging Pecos, 47-45, and its opponent will be St. Michael’s, which won for the fourth time in five starts to up its mark to 7-5 by having no problem disposing of Sandia Prep, 41-24. In a consolation contest, Los Alamos got past Santa Fe High, 54-47, to advance to 4-6 and drop the Demonettes to 4-7. For Pecos, it was the second loss in nine starts and Sandia Prep fell to 2-5.
