Pecos’ undefeated, top-ranked girls go for their second state championship

Two years after winning their first state basketball championship, the top-seeded Pecos girls bring an undefeated record to Friday’s 2A title game against 2nd-seeded Lordsburg at the University of New Mexico Dreamstyle Arena.

Now 13-0 under head coach Bryan Gonzales, the Panthers had an easy time ousting 5th-seeded, previously unbeaten Tatum, 61-43, Wednesday at the familiar Santa Rosa court of their district rivals.

Usually depending on All-State senior wing Trinity Herrera, who turned in 14 points, this time they got a team-high 17 points from senior guard Alexis Gonzales. They used a 21-3 run in the second quarter to command a 41-14 advantage into halftime.

“It is exciting stuff,” said Coach Gonzales. “It’s stressful, but it’s also exciting.”

In the first half, his girls made good on 14-of-18 shots from  the floor. They also attached the basket, and that led to many trips to the foul line. Herrera, who leads Pecos in every offensive department, took down 11 rebounds and Alexis Gonzales handed out six assists.

Said Coach Gonzales: “Our girls just came out and were on it. They were being patient and getting traps and jumping the passing lanes and getting steals.”

Herrera tallied a dozen of her total points in the first half. Then there was freshman forward Savannah Ortiz scoring 13 of her points over the first two quarters and Coach Gonzales was able to go to his bench early.

Then there was sophomore power forward Mistidawn Roybal bringing down eight rebounds and blocking a pair of shots. Herrera, whose sophomore power forward sister, Alexis, is an up-and-coming threat, and guard Eliza Ortiz are the only seniors on the varsity roster.

Now the Panthers face Lordsburg, which is 12-1 after disposing of 6th-seeded Clayton of Pecos’ district, 60-43. Clayton (7-4) had upset 3rd-seeded Mescalero Apache in the quarterfinals.

The Robertson girls, second in District 2-3A to West Las Vegas, also advanced to the Friday final at UNM by getting past 7th-seeded Tohatchi, 41-37. It was Tohatchi that ousted 2nd-seeded West Las Vegas in the quarters.

The Cardinals (10-4) meet up with top-seeded, undefeated Navajo Prep (13-0), which rolled past 4th-seeded Hatch Valley, 53-29.

The Espanola Valley girls, District 2-4A champions at 12-1, gained today’s semifinals by turning back visiting 7th-seeded Albuquerque St. Pius X, 62-36, and will go against 6th-seeded Kirtland Central (11-1), with the survivor taking on the contest today pairing No. 1-seeded Portales (10-1) with 4th-seeded Gallup (12-1).

The championship game at UNM will be played Saturday.