Newly Crowned Champions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Recap of the title games for the 4A class and the 2A Class - 2023 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball Championships</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>District Rivals finally settled the score with the Gallup Bengals being crowned the 4A Champs over Kirtland Central. A highly anticipated matchup versus the top two seeded teams (#1 &amp; #2) that produced one of the biggest crowds for High School basketball in recent years. The Pit, Home of the UNM Lobos, holds close to 15,000 fans and the stands were essentially filled for this one</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/_NMAA/status/1634376239975890945","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true,"align":"center"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/_NMAA/status/1634376239975890945 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Entering the title game, the season series was tied 2-2 but with a 57-47 win, Gallup gets the last laugh.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table {"align":"left","className":"is-style-stripes"} --> <figure class="wp-block-table alignleft is-style-stripes"><table><tbody><tr><td></td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Gallup</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">Kirtland</td></tr><tr><td>FG</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">19-52 (36.5%)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">18-51 (35.3%)</td></tr><tr><td>3PT</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">5-15 (29.4%)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">3-14 (21.4%)</td></tr><tr><td>FT</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">14-19 (73.7%)</td><td class="has-text-align-center" data-align="center">8-16 (50%)</td></tr></tbody></table><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Stats via NMAA</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"left"} --> <p class="has-text-align-left">The #2 Bengals led the majority of the way and had the edge in each of the shooting categories statistically </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All five of the Bengal starters scored and were the only ones to do so despite a 8-player rotation. [player_tooltip player_id='467051' first='Rylie' last='Whitehair'] was fantastic yet again, notching yet another double-double with 18 points &amp; 13 rebounds. Kiera Livingston had 12 points &amp; 4 assists while [player_tooltip player_id='458571' first='Daliyah' last='Morris'] &amp; Delia Tello each scored 10 points. Raven Tso finished with 7.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the #1 Broncos, it was Aaryanna Lansing &amp; Teghan Begay who did the heavy lifting, allowing KC to  remain competitive. Lansing logged a double-double with a game-high 19 points &amp; 10 rebounds. Begay totaled 16 points &amp; 7 rebounds. The tandem accounted for all but three field goals made for KC: 18-51 FG for Broncos | 8-12 FG for Lansing &amp; 7-11 FG for Begay</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/_NMAA/status/1634400694584348672","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true,"align":"center"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/_NMAA/status/1634400694584348672 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2A Championship started off as a back and forth battle that featured five lead changes and four ties. Going into halftime it was the #7 Texico Wolverines with a 1 point lead, 19-18 over the top seeded Escalante Lobos.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A 10-1 run for the Wolverines pushed their lead to 29-19 late in the 3rd quarter. Heading into the 4th, it was Texico up 30-21. After the final buzzer sounded, Texico came away victorious taking home the 2A Title with a 44-30 win!&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Emma Wahlen recorded a double-double with 12 points &amp; 10 boards. Catelyn Breshears finished with 10 points on 4-5 shooting &amp; 3 steals. Maya Holman and Kinzee Crow each had 9 points and performed their role to perfection. Holman was a defensive spark who came away with 4 steals. Crow made her presence known on the interior, providing the Wolverines with another double digit rebounder.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a tough night offensively for Escalante as they shot under 20% for the game. It was just one of those nights where a lid seems to cover the rim. Escalante made only 9 total field goals and went an astonishing 1-17 from 3PT range.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Lady Lobos' [player_tooltip player_id='458572' first='Brycelyn' last='Martinez'] had 12 points 8 rebounds and 7 steals, playing all but three minutes. [player_tooltip player_id='557023' first='Katelyn' last='Hinds'] was the second leading scorer at 9 points but did most of her damage in the 1st half.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Unfortunately, this was Escalante's second straight season reaching the title game and coming away empty handed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/_NMAA/status/1634368218977677312","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true,"align":"center"} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/_NMAA/status/1634368218977677312 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->