Final Four Squads in both 5A and 4A

The 2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball Championships are now down to the last four teams per class level. Both the 5A and 4A semifinals are set and will be played on Thursday March 9th. Here is a recap & preview of how the remaining teams got there.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="has-text-align-center">5A</h2>   The 5A Girls Quarterfinals on Tuesday morning (3/7/23) started with a #4 vs #5 matchup @ 9:45 am that featured Carlsbad & La Cueva.   The defensive pressure by La Cueva was simply too much for Carlsbad to handle. The #5 Bears played tenacious defense, committing to full court presses and double teams anywhere in the half court. The Bears played both zone defense and “drop coverage man”, daring #4 Carlsbad to score from the outside. CBad shot under 22% from the field, making only 9 of 42 attempts for the entire game! At the half it was 13–11, in favor of the Bears. La Cueva then outscored Carlsbad 20-9 in the 3rd quarter - which was capped off by a DEEP buzzer beating 3 pointer by [player_tooltip player_id='459605' first='Alexis' last='Ayers'] - and never looked back.   When asked about it, Ayers said “it was an amazing feeling!” & that she knew the shot was going to fall.   <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> “I went up confident.. I knew I was going to make the shot. I feel like it added on to our momentum during the game, most definitely!” </blockquote>   The Bears had three players score in double figures - Ayers (10), Jordyn Dyer (10) & [player_tooltip player_id='357673' first='Eva' last='Love'] (10) who also notched a double-double with 11 rebounds.   <figure class="wp-block-embed alignleft is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/mattmtz108/status/1633275545302491137 </div></figure>     BUT can the Bears keep up the suffocating defense against the States Top Ranked Team, Hobbs? A semifinal matchup between the two programs that is taking place in back to back seasons. In 2021-22, it was Hobbs that edged La Cueva by two points.   The Lady Eagles have put up 67 and 51 points over their last two games respectively.   Corner specialist, [player_tooltip player_id='467055' first='Nakia' last='Mojica'], exploded for 19 points, going 5/9 from behind the arc, hitting some big time shots vs the Matadors. [player_tooltip player_id='458555' first='Bhret' last='Clay'] provided the #1 Lady Eagles with solid play, contributing an all-around game that produced a 12 point, eight rebound, four assist quarterfinal stat line.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   Volcano Vista, the defending 5A Champions and #3 seed, are once again a final four team after defeating #6 Centennial, 43-36.   Volcano's defensive pressure flustered Centennial's primary ball handlers, making it difficult for them to even cross half court! [player_tooltip player_id='459606' first='Mari' last='Manzanares'] recorded five steals alone.   On the other end of the floor, Volcano's ability to get second chance points and good shots thru [player_tooltip player_id='357657' first='Taejhuan' last='Hill'] is what separates the Hawks from other teams. Hill is a matchup nightmare that forces opposing teams to account for her at all times. A hard task to guard one on one and even more of a challenge to box out. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='557040' first='Storm' last='Nguyen'] chipped in with eight points going 2/5 from three-point range.   <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/mattmtz108/status/1633325821539815425 </div></figure>   They now face a Bulldawgs team that is fresh off a quarterfinal upset over #2 Farmington. Las Cruces, the lowest remaining seed at #7, stunned the Lady Scorpions thanks to impressive outings from senior's [player_tooltip player_id='391179' first='Lila' last='Ashida'] & [player_tooltip player_id='353927' first='Emma' last='Christiano']. The tandem filled the stat sheet and each made monumental plays in their own right. Christiano totaled 14 points, seven rebounds, & seven assists. But perhaps made her biggest contribution on the defensive end. In addition to her three steals, Emma took a charge late in the game, sliding across the lane and absorbing the contact through her chest! Lila who had double-double, had a game-high had 28 points & 11 rebounds. Ashida went 11/22 from the field which included four 3s, none bigger than her game-tying wing triple with seven seconds left in regulation.   With the praise rightfully going towards Ashida & Christiano, it should also be noted the contributions made by the role players were timely and effective! Senior Yesenia Baylon played the entire game, all 36 minutes and had 8 points and 3 steals. Sophomore guards, [player_tooltip player_id='814476' first='Bethzy' last='Quinones'] (5 points, 4 reb, 3 ast) & [player_tooltip player_id='403412' first='Danae' last='Pacheco'] (7 points & 7 reb), played with tremendous heart and lifted the Bulldawgs with their effort in key moments (steals, putbacks, corner 3s etc)   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="has-text-align-center">4A Class</h2>     Top seed, the Kirtland Central Broncos, steam rolled into the Semifinals with a win over #8 Bloomfield, their third win against the Bobcats this season. Next up is the Huskies from Hope Christian, the #4 seed who has a pair of 1,000 points career scorers - [player_tooltip player_id='391172' first='Kathleen' last='Obisike'] & [player_tooltip player_id='391174' first='Alyssa' last='Vigil'].   The Huskies should be equipped to the early start time. In the quarterfinals, they were tasked with an 8:00 am game vs Artesia. Now they are slated to do so once again; Does it give them an advantage over Kirtland Central? It should not which posses the real question, can Hope's duo, out duel Aaryanna Lansing & Jaylene Harris-Rhea of KC? Lansing, like Obisike is an interior player that likes to bump inside. Harris-Rhea is an explosive strong guard that has active hands and will likely matchup vs Vigil.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   The #3 Lady Sartans avoided a quarterfinal exit thanks to a second half comeback led by their three-guard lineup - [player_tooltip player_id='458557' first='Catalina' last='Anaya'], [player_tooltip player_id='385929' first='Alyssa' last='Maes'], & Marisol Valdez   Together the trio accounted for over two-thirds of the St. Pius points in the 40-36 win versus the #6 Hilltoppers - Anaya (9), Maes (7) & Valdez (11 team-high)   <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/mattmtz108/status/1633194511332700163 </div></figure>   Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='458557' first='Catalina' last='Anaya'], who secured a late steal that lead to a pair of game sealing free-throws, said the team was thrilled to advance past Los Alamos but knows they have their work cut out for them with their next opponent, the #2 Gallup Bengals.   <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> “We were really excited that we were able to pull off the win [over Los Alamos] and advance to the next round” said Anaya. “The biggest challenges are making sure we know that they [Gallup] can shoot and [to] be aware of where all players are on the court, [also] breaking the press.” </blockquote>   The Bengals connected on 7/16 three-pointers in their 60-37 win over #10 Valencia and forced 31 turnovers!!! That's right 31 ! On the other end of the court, Gallup had three players reach the double digit mark. [player_tooltip player_id='467051' first='Rylie' last='Whitehair'] (13 points on 5/11 FGs), [player_tooltip player_id='458571' first='Daliyah' last='Morris'] (13 points, 3/4 3PT) & Kiera Livingston (10 points, 2-6 3PT).

The 2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball Championships are now down to the last four teams per class level. Both the 5A and 4A semifinals are set and will be played on Thursday March 9th. Here is a recap & preview of how the remaining teams got there.