Class of 2022: Guards Spotlight

After an incredible girls high school basketball season, we were shown great play from players all around the New Mexico community. This included some elite talent and skill from some of the top guards in the state from this past year. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353694" first="Natalia" last="Chavez"]- 5’10 SG "Volcano Vista"</span> New Mexico Lobos commit [player_tooltip player_id="353694" first="Natalia" last="Chavez"] had an excellent senior year leading Volcano Vista to back to back 5A State Championships. She led Volcano Vista in scoring averaging 16.7 points per game which ranked 8th in the state this season. <strong>Natalia’s</strong> play helped Volcano Vista go a perfect 29-0 this year and defeat Hobbs in the 5A State Championship 49-32. An important part of her game is her three point shooting. She made 80 three-pointers this season which was the most in New Mexico this year. <strong>Natalia</strong> ends her high school basketball career as a Two-Time State Champion and is one of the newest members to New Mexico Lobos Basketball. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353683" first="Juliana" last="Aragon"]- 5’5 PG "Bernalillo"</span> The New Mexico Girls Gatorade Player of the Year went off this season. [player_tooltip player_id="353683" first="Juliana" last="Aragon"] led the state in scoring averaging 29.7 points per game this year. "<strong>Jules</strong>" shot an incredible 62% on field goals and 50% from three point range. She was also more than just a scorer and passed the basketball better than everyone this season. <strong>Juliana</strong> led the state in passing averaging 8.1 assists per game. She had fourteen 30-point games this season and had seven double-doubles this year. <strong>Juliana</strong> was also the best at getting to the free throw line and converting those free throws shooting 87% from the foul line. She led the state with 175 free throws made which was 48 more than the next closest player. There wasn’t a more deserving Gatorade Player of the Year than Bernalillo’s [player_tooltip player_id="353683" first="Juliana" last="Aragon"]. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353693" first="Jaelyn" last="Bates"]- 5’6 PG "Volcano Vista"</span> Future New Mexico Lobos player, [player_tooltip player_id="353693" first="Jaelyn" last="Bates"] had an amazing season leading Volcano Vista to back to back 5A State Championships. <strong>Jaelyn</strong> was named the 5A-District 1 Player of the Year along with so many other accolades this season. This year, <strong>Jaelyn</strong> averaged 13.4 points per game along with 3.9 steals per game which ranked 3rd in the 5A Class. <strong>Jaelyn</strong> made 57 three-pointers this year which was the 11th most in the state. <strong>Jaelyn</strong> was one of the best two-way players in the state and that helped her leave her mark at Volcano Vista as a Two-Time State Champion. It will be fun watching her continue her basketball career at the next level for the New Mexico Lobos. <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353690" first="Kiiyani" last="Anitielu"]- 5’7 PG "Farmington"</span></p> Farmington’s [player_tooltip player_id="353690" first="Kiiyani" last="Anitielu"] was one of the top prospects this season and led Farmington to the 5A State Semifinals. <strong>Kiiyani</strong> averaged an impressive 19.7 points per game this season which ranked 5th in the state. <strong>Kiiyani</strong> made 60 three-pointers which was 9th in New Mexico this season. Kiiyani had eleven 20-point games this season and was easily mentioned by many as one of the top scorers in the state. <strong>Kiiyani</strong> had an excellent high school career at Farmington. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="403435" first="Harmanie" last="Dominguez"]- 5’7 PG "Organ Mountain"</span> Organ Mountain Point Guard [player_tooltip player_id="403435" first="Harmanie" last="Dominguez"] had an excellent senior year and led Organ Mountain to the state tournament. <strong>Harmanie</strong> averaged 21.2 points per game which ranked 3rd in New Mexico this season. Harmanie was one of the states top three-point shooters and made 71 three pointers  which was 2nd in the state this season. <strong>Harmanie</strong> was also solid at getting to the free throw line and made 127 free throw this season which was 2nd in the state this year. <strong>Harmanie</strong> had a nice all around game this year and racked up 6 double-doubles from rebounds and assists this year. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353744" first="Denice" last="Ryan"]- 5’2 PG "Highland"</span> [player_tooltip player_id="353744" first="Denice" last="Ryan"] was one of the most all around players in the entire state this season. She averaged 17.4 points per game which was 7th in New Mexico, 4.6 rebounds per game and 4.3 assists per game which was tied for 6th in the state this season. Her all-around play helped guide Highland to a 21-6 record this season and a trip to the state tournament. <strong>Denice</strong> was named the 4A-District 5 Player of the Year and was selected for the 4A/5A all-star team. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353758" first="Rylie" last="Ottmann"]- 5’7 PG "La Cueva"</span> La Cueva Point Guard [player_tooltip player_id="353758" first="Rylie" last="Ottmann"] had a nice senior year and led La Cueva to the 5A State Semifinals this season. La Cueva went a solid 21-7 this year and secured the 3rd seed in the 5A State tournament. <strong>Rylie</strong> had a nice all around-game and was one of the top two-way players in the state. <strong>Rylie</strong> averaged 11.0 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game and 4.3 assists per game which was tied for the 6th most in the state this year. <strong>Rylie</strong> was one of the top defensive players in the state and averaged 3.8 steals per game which was the 4th most in the 5A Class. Between her and Volcano Vista’s [player_tooltip player_id="353770" first="Kennedy" last="Brown"], no one competed harder than [player_tooltip player_id="353758" first="Rylie" last="Ottmann"]. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353745" first="Alexis" last="Sandoval"]- 5’5 PG "Goddard"</span> [player_tooltip player_id="353745" first="Alexis" last="Sandoval"] was one of the top scorers in New Mexico this season. <strong>Alexis</strong> averaged 15.2 points per game which was 14th in the state this year. A strong part of her game was her three-point shooting. <strong>Alexis</strong> made 58 three-pointers this year which was the 10th most in the state this season. <strong>Alexis</strong> had seven 20-point games this season and that helped Goddard qualify for the 4A State Tournament as the #10 seed. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="403552" first="Carolina" last="Romero"]- 5’6 SG "La Cueva"</span> La Cueva’s [player_tooltip player_id="403552" first="Carolina" last="Romero"] was one of the top shooting guards and three-point shooters in the state this season. <strong>Carolina</strong> averaged 10.1 points per game and made 63 three-pointers this season which was tied for the 6th most in the state this year. <strong>Carolina’s</strong> three point shooting and scoring helped La Cueva finish 21-7 this season and reach the 5A State Semifinals. [player_tooltip player_id="403552" first="Carolina" last="Romero"] had an excellent senior season. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353770" first="Kennedy" last="Brown"]- 5’4 CG "Volcano Vista</span> [player_tooltip player_id="353770" first="Kennedy" last="Brown"] finished her high school career as a two-time state champion at Volcano Vista. <strong>Kennedy</strong> was also selected as the 5A-District 1 Defensive Player of the Year. <strong>Kennedy</strong> averaged 4.1 steals per game which led the entire 5A Class this season. Without [player_tooltip player_id="353770" first="Kennedy" last="Brown"] this season, Volcano Vista doesn’t win those two back to back state championships from the last two seasons.