2023 New Mexico Girls State Tournament First Round Review

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 New Mexico High School Basketball State Tournament kicked off this past weekend on Friday March 3rd, 2023. Throughout the five classes in New Mexico, their was 80 total teams participating in this years State Tournament. Their was a total of 40 matchup across the state and 8 in each class. Throughout the first round of the playoffs, we look at some of the states top performers from across New Mexico with just 40 teams remaining. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All eyes was on the Sandia and Albuquerque 5A Girls First Round Matchup. It was a back and forth duel between the two stars on both sides; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391103' first='Sydney' last='Benally']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353909' first='Leilani' last='Love']</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391103' first='Sydney' last='Benally']</strong> ended with a game high 34 points while leading the Matadors to a 60-46 victory over the Bulldogs while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353909' first='Leilani' last='Love']</strong> finished with 22 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353908' first='Aspen' last='Salazar']</strong> led the Centennial Hawks to a wire to wire 40-39 victory over the Organ Mountain Knights. She had another stellar all-around performance with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391179' first='Lila' last='Ashida']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353927' first='Emma' last='Christiano']</strong> powered the Las Cruces Bulldawgs past the Clovis Wildcats in the 5A Girls First Round this past Friday evening. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391179' first='Lila' last='Ashida']</strong> scored a game high 21 points while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353927' first='Emma' last='Christiano']</strong> ran the floor well dishing 8 assists in the victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending back to back 5A Girls State Champions were put to the test in the first round vs <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370329' first='Bella' last='Hines']</strong> and the Eldorado Eagles. It was a close and competitive game throughout the evening with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370329' first='Bella' last='Hines']</strong> scoring a game high 27 points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357657' first='Taejhuan' last='Hill']</strong> and the Hawks were just to much for the Eagles as she led the team in scoring with 19 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391172' first='Kathleen' last='Obisike']</strong> was dominant from the start with her inside presence vs Lovington. She controlled the paint on both ends with her scoring, rebounding and defense. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391172' first='Kathleen' last='Obisike']</strong> scored a game high 21 points while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391174' first='Alyssa' last='Vigil']</strong> scored 16 points and was clutch with her late game free throw shooting as Lovington tried making a late comeback. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Star SG <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='357673' first='Eva' last='Love']</strong> from the La Cueva Bears is getting her rhythm back after battling through injuries this season. She led the La Cueva Bears with 15 points and a 20-point victory over Mayfield in the first round of the 5A Girls Playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Farmington Scorpions defeated the West Mesa Mustangs for the third time this season in the 5A Girls First Round. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='353913' first='Kamalani' last='Anitielu']</strong> led the team in scoring &amp; assists with 15 points and 5 dimes. Her sister <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='391245' first='Kapiolani' last='Anitielu']</strong> stuffed up the stats sheet with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals to help the Scorpions advance to the second round of the 5A Playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5A Girls favorite Hobbs Eagles had no difficulty advancing past the Rio Rancho Rams with a blowout 67-14 win at home. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='458556' first='Brynn' last='Hargrove']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='458555' first='Bhret' last='Clay']</strong> both ended the game in double-figures. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->