Santa Fe High girls fall to Albuquerque High

Now comes the wait, from the Friday night47-39 loss at No. 1 seed Albuquerque High in the District 5-5A girls final, until the Sunday night state tournament announcement by the New Mexico Activities Association, is what Santa Fe High has to do.

And that’s to come away with a berth at state. Head coach Nate Morris is hopeful, but not certain.

“We get no respect, non,” Morris said after the game. “They say we haven’t been a factor since 2014 when we won state 4A, and now all of a sudden

people are saying that we are Santa Fe High, and we can roll past them. Well, no, you can’t, and its dang frustrating, too.”

That’s his opinion that he’s entitled to, but its all in the hands of the NMAA, and right now it could be the Demonettes getting the 16th and final seed, but then again, who knows, it could be better, but what they’re hoping for most is not to be left out.

It was the third time they lost to the Bulldogs. One was not all that close, one was a 44-43 overtime defeat, and now this one.

Santa Fe High owns 18 wins, have lost nine times, and in the latest state rankings, is at No. 16 in its quest for a state bid.

Now while these rankings are not a certainty, they generally get close to how the seeding process plays out. Now if the Demonettes receive the final spot in the 16-team field, they will travel to undefeated No. 1 Albuquerque Volcano Vista for next week’s opening round.

Said senior guard Kabreya Garcia of Santa Fe High: “We do deserve better, for sure. We’re way better than 16. We’re put higher (in the rankings) than four others that we already beat and we are still at 16.”

Well, that’s what the rankings say, but its strength of schedule is tied with Albuquerque High for the worst of the top 25 in 5A.

The Demonettes nearly clinched an automatic berth at state. Trailing by as many as 10 in the third quarter, they put together a 12-0 run midway through the quarter to take a 32-30 lead on a layup by Laisha Diaz off a turnover by the Bulldogs as the quarter wound down.

It was at 39-all in the final quarter, but the home team went on a 11-0 run with 4 minutes remaining to advance to state from anywhere from 10 to 13. Only four Bulldogs scored, with 6-foot-4 Leilani Love having the game-high 20 points. Diaz and Olivia Montoya had the team-high nine points for the visitors, with Montoya tossing in a trio of 3s.

“Now let’s see what happens,” Morris said. “I know we belong, but it’s out of my hands now.”