Matt’s Takeaways: Gatorade POTY, 1000 Point Club & More
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With District play underway for teams across the State of New Mexico, it marks essentially the start of the second half of the regular season for girls high school ball. As many programs have now played more than 15 total…
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Continue ReadingWith District play underway for teams across the State of New Mexico, it marks essentially the start of the second half of the regular season for girls high school ball. As many programs have now played more than 15 total games, several players are playing out of their minds!
These are some of the biggest storylines and most important achievements that have unfolded over the course of the season so far!
Gatorade Player of the Year
Standout guard Bella Hines Bella Hines 5'10" | CG Eldorado | 2025 State NM from Eldorado, is the number one ranked player for the Class of 2025 and is putting up numbers that exceeds all expectations for a second year player. In just one and a half seasons, she has eclipsed 1,000 career points and is well on pace to reach 2,000.
Arguably the most talented & skilled player within the State of New Mexico, Bella is a true three-level scorer meaning she can get to the rim, sink mid range jumpers & connect on shots beyond the arc.
Highlights
After a stellar freshman year in which Hines averaged over 22 points per game, she now leads to State is scoring as a sophomore at 28 ppg. I asked Bella if there were there any aspects of her game that she wanted to improve on going into year 2 and if she has noticed any differences in the way opposing teams and players are guarding her.
“The skill that I wanted to improve most going into my sophomore year was my midrange game and my finishing ability” Hines said. “I feel like teams this year have been guarding me more aggressively and more physical but it hasn’t changed the way I play, I still manage to find my spots.”
This season, Bella has done an exceptional job of recognizing coverages in the half court and knowing which areas to exploit by the available spacing. It is evident by her shot selection, as she has taken more two point field goals this year compared to last. Although Hines was one of the top 3pt shooters a season ago, in terms of makes with 68, her ability to not rely on the 3ball is really impressive. In 11 less games, Bella is only 16 makes shy of her total as freshman.
Season | GP | 2FGM | 2FGA | 2FG% |
FR 2021-22 | 26 | 140 | 333 | 42% |
SO 2022-23 | 15 | 124 | 237 | 52% |
The Eagles (8-7, 1-0) are looking to finish strong as they undergo District Play in perhaps one of the deepest Districts across the board. With aspirations of making a deep playoff run, the Lady Eagles will have to start stringing together wins over the final few weeks of the regular season. The good news, it is very possible when you have one of the best players on the court (Hines) on your side.
All-State Honors
The Organ Mountain Lady Knights, who are ranked inside the top 10 per the latest coaches poll & via MaxPreps, have gotten off the a solid start thanks to great play from multiple players, especially Caitlin Turnbow Caitlin Turnbow 5'10" | PF Organ Mountain | 2024 State NM .
A physical forward currently averaging a double-double with season splits of 19.8 ppg with 11.9 rpg through 17 games.
More responsibility was bestowed upon Caitlin both on the offensive end but also from leadership standpoint this season for the Lady Knights. Two things she is continuing to work on are being the leading voice amongst her teammates & expanding her offensive repertoire by playing more on the perimeter.
“I think this year too, I’ve had a bigger leadership role and I’m trying to lead the team more and more as the season goes on…I’m really proud of us for how we’ve been playing lately, it seems like we’ve started to trust each other more and more as we go”.
Turnbow has helped take the Lady Knights to a 12-5 start that includes being 2-0 in District and a midseason tournament title with the Rio Rancho Invite. Caitlin has posted seven games of 20+ points so far this season and has also taken a career high 17 attempts from 3pt range – only one attempt total as an underclassman.
“I felt like I needed to open up my game and become more of a diverse player” Turnbow said “not being one dimensional.”
Aspen Salazar Aspen Salazar 5'9" | SF Centennial | 2023 State NM is having a marvelous senior year that should land her “All-State” Honors and it would be a travesty if it does not happen.
A two-way playmaker posting averages of 19.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 4.4 spg & 1.1 bpg through 16 games. Aspen has 110 FGM on 46% shooting from the field.
Highlights
Salazar has increased her scoring nearly 5 points from her Junior Season to now and is currently 5th in scoring (19.1 ppg) as of 1/19/23 – Aspen moves well without the ball, understands when to attack the cup but also when to take the three point shot. A part of her game that has improved tremendously. At this point in the season, Salazar is in the top 15 for made 3pointers with 25, which more than triples her total from last season!
On Monday 1/16/23, Salazar recorded a near triple double for the Centennial Hawks (10-6, 1-0) filling the stat sheet with an impressive line of – 23 points, 9 assists 9 rebounds.
1,000 Point Club
All-State senior forward Kathleen Obisike Kathleen Obisike 5'11" | C Hope Christian | 2023 State NM from Hope Christian notched 1,000 career points earlier this season.
A hard working, high energy forward that is a certified “glass cleaner”. Obisike competes tirelessly on the glass allowing her to grab multiple offensive rebounds leading to easy put backs and does a tremendous job of finding a body to box out defensively. Kathleen is 4th in scoring at 19.3 ppg & 1st in rebounding with 15.2 rpg for the entire State. A large part why the Hope Christian Huskies (13-6, 1-0) are currently ranked #3 in the 4A class per the latest updated rankings
Breakout Junior Season
Kapiolani Anitielu Kapiolani Anitielu 5'10" | SF Farmington | 2024 State NM from Farmington is having a tremendous season for the Lady Scorpions serving as the number one option for Coach Thomas Adair. Anitielu is currently in the top 15 in multiple statistical categories such as scoring and rebounding. A 18.4 ppg player (6th) & effective rebounder at 9.5 per contest (11th).
A versatile weapon on the offensive end that has established herself as one of the better primary scoring options throughout the State. Uses her length to her advantage, she can rise up and shoot over opponents in the midrange and from behind the 3pt line; But can get into the lane and finish through contact.
Farmington (17-1, 2-0) is currently #2 in the 5A rankings and just recently defeated the #5 ranked Sandia Matadors, 72-62 at home on 1/17/23. Kapiolani is well on her way to claiming another “All-State” selection but this time it should be 1st Team as opposed to 2nd Team. As a sophomore, Kapiolani claimed a 2nd Team selection in 5A, which is in itself is a great thing; But with that being said, she is balling out this year!
4A Bigs OUT due to Injury
There is perhaps nothing worse than injuries depriving a player of their senior season. Unfortunately, that is just the case with some of the more intriguing forwards within the 4A class – Evann Segura Evann Segura 5'10" | PF Moriarty | 2023 State NM & Zoe Brown Zoe Brown 5'10" | PF Valencia | 2023 State NM . Two players that had some high expectations for the 2022-23 season.
Evann Segura Evann Segura 5'10" | PF Moriarty | 2023 State NM from Moriarty and the #8 ranked player for the 2023 class was poised to have a monster year for the Lady Pintos but has been out the entire year with a reported torn acl. A truly massive blow to Moriarty (10-8, 1-1) that was slated to have one of the better duos is 4A ( Segura & Aneesa Chavez Aneesa Chavez SG Moriarty | 2023 State NM ). The Pintos, unfortunately are seeing the downside of being without Evann. They have already matched their losses in a season from last year (7) and are scoring more than 10 points fewer.
Zoe Brown Zoe Brown 5'10" | PF Valencia | 2023 State NM from Valencia is the #30 ranked player in the class of 2023 and was expected to help the Valencia Jaguars contend in 4A for a State Title. The senior forward/wing has been out with a knee injury all year not allowing Head Coach Micaela Medina to form her “Big 3” with Brown, Azalia Malizia Azalia Malizia 5'4" | PG Valencia | 2024 State NM & Jadyn Montoya Jadyn Montoya 5'5" | PG Valencia | 2025 State NM . The Jaguars (13-5, 1-0) are currently #4 in 4A Rankings which puts them on pace to exceed their win total from last year.