3A Girls State Tournament Preview

The New Mexico High School Basketball State Tournament starts this Friday March 4th, and this article will go over the Girls 3A Bracket consisting of 16 teams and 8 matchups. The First Round is Friday March 4th, the Quarterfinals are Tuesday March 8th, the Semifinals are Thursday March 10th, and the Championship games are Friday March 11th. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#1 Robertson vs #16 Raton</strong></span> Robertson finished the regular season 24-1 and the district champs by going undefeated in district play at 8-0. They were led by four of the top-rated players in the state, [player_tooltip player_id="353692" first="Jayden" last="Jenkins"], [player_tooltip player_id="353902" first="Brianna" last="Quintana"], Azalyn Padilla and [player_tooltip player_id="357675" first="Liegha" last="Lucero"]. They are the favorites to win this year’s 3A tournament. Raton secured the 16th seed in this year’s tournament and were led by team captains Abigail Phillips, Isabella Robertson, Kira Medina, and Riley Hopper. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#8 Thoreau vs #9 Zuni</strong></span> Thoreau went 17-10 this season and finished 4th place in district going 7-5 in district. This team is an experienced roster with 5 seniors on the team. Kora Jones, Shanell Edsitty, Moniquica Charley, Crystal Martinez, Kayla Garcia and Brook Capitan. Zuni went 14-11 this season and has a young roster led by their two seniors Kristyn Eriacho, Katlin Gia and Synthea Natewa. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#5 Crownpoint vs #12 Tucumcari</strong></span> Crownpoint had a solid season going 21-7 and finished in 3rd place with a tough district schedule. They went 8-4 in district play and was rewarded the 5th seed. They are led by [player_tooltip player_id="357718" first="Tyra" last="Tsosie"] who is one of the top players in the state. Tucumcari went 13-10 in the regular season and were led by their scoring duo [player_tooltip player_id="391175" first="Alexus" last="Lafferty"] and [player_tooltip player_id="391105" first="Caylee" last="Benavidez"]. They average 15.5 points per game and 11.7 points per game this season. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#4 Navajo Prep vs #13 St. Michaels</strong></span> Navajo Prep is one of the early favorites to win this girls 3A tournament. In the regular season, they finished 20-6 and second in their district by going 10-2 in district play. They were led by Senior star, [player_tooltip player_id="353901" first="Amber" last="Garcia"]. St. Michaels went 10-18 in the regular season and were led by their three seniors, Milena Keene, Ellie Quintana, and Claire Patten. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#3 Santa Fe Indian vs #14 Sandia Prep</strong></span> Santa Fe Indian finished 18-6 this season, 6-2 in district play and finished 2nd in district this season. They were led by senior Jordan Torres who averaged 12.3 points per game this season. Santa Fe Indian will be one of the favorites to win this tournament. Sandia Prep finished 11-14 this season but got hot toward the end of the season by winning their district title by going 7-1 in district play. They were led by Mika Jaun who is one of the state’s top players who averaged over 12 points per game this season. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#6 Socorro vs #11 West Las Vegas</strong></span> Socorro finished 17-6 this season and secured the 6th overall seed in this year’s tournament. They won their district title by going 5-1 during district play and will be a team to keep your eyes on this postseason. They were led by team captains Jalyndria Jackson and Taelene Fowler. West Las Vegas finished 9-14 this season and 3rd place in district. They were led by their scoring duo [player_tooltip player_id="391180" first="Jacelyn" last="Morgan"] and Lillyanna Martinez. [player_tooltip player_id="391180" first="Jacelyn" last="Morgan"] averaged 11.6 points per game and Lillyanna Martinez averaged 10.2 points per game this season. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#7 Dexter vs #10 Hatch Valley</strong></span> Dexter finished the season as district champions from their solid regular season.  They went 15-6 overall and 4-0 in district play. This team is led by two highly rated players, [player_tooltip player_id="353706" first="Nayeli" last="Cobos"] and [player_tooltip player_id="353746" first="Zoey" last="Stewart"]. Zoey leads the team in scoring averaging 16.7 points per game and Nayeli averaged 12.4 points per game this season. Hatch Valley secured the 10th seed; they went 16-10 in the regular season and came in second in district by going 5-1 in district play. Mackenie Williams led this team in scoring averaging 14.3 points per game and Jaylinn Moriel averaged 10.4 points per game this season. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>#2 Tohatchi vs #15 Cuba</strong></span> Tohatchi went 20-7 this season and won their district title by going 11-1 in district play. This is a young roster surrounded by their two seniors Autumn Shorty and Ashlyn Begay. Those two highly rated players make Tohatchi one of the favorites to win it all this season. Cuba finished 14-12 this season and started playing their best basketball toward the end of the season, they went 7-1 in district play and finished 2nd in district. <a class="StyledAnchor-sc-jb44mu-0 dfxRrJ" href="https://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/sierra-costillo/3AlFyjYYEeiT-Oz0u-e-FA/default.htm">Sierra Costillo</a> led the team in scoring averaging 11.2 points per game.