2024 State Championships: 4A Final Four Recap
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ALBUQUERQUE — The St. Pius X Sartans and the Kirtland Central Bulldogs advance to the 4A title game after commanding wins in the Final Four. Sartans roll past Bulldogs 61-41 The first ‘Final Four’ matchup was an 8 a.m. clash…
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Continue ReadingALBUQUERQUE — The St. Pius X Sartans and the Kirtland Central Bulldogs advance to the 4A title game after commanding wins in the Final Four.
Sartans roll past Bulldogs 61-41
The first ‘Final Four’ matchup was an 8 a.m. clash between the No. 2 Sartans and the No. 3 Bulldogs.
The Sartans went 24/54 from the field overall, connecting on 7/18 attempts behind the arc, doubling their totals from the ‘Elite Eight’ (FG:12/58 & 3PT: 3/23). On the flip side, SPX played tenacious team-defense holding Artesia to under 36 percent from the floor (FG: 15/42) and only allowing two 3-pointers (2/10).
PG Catalina Anaya Catalina Anaya 5'5" | PG St, Pius X | 2025 State NM had a game-high 23 points for the Sartans while also recording 4 assists and 4 steals. When Anaya is on and making shots, the Sartans are tough to beat. SPX is a blue-collar squad that takes pride in forcing their opposition to work. Their defense is their best offense, meaning they do a great job of turning teams over and getting transition and fast break opportunities, especially Anaya. Forward Macy Freeze Macy Freeze 6'0" | PF St. Pius X | 2025 State NM had another solid outing with 12 points, giving SPX much needed relief points around the basket. Bella Candelaria did a great job of spacing the floor with her outside shot; The junior CG finished with 11 points, hitting three 3s on seven attempts.
Senior Kymber Beltran — a 5’5″ SG — was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, finishing with 15 points on 5/12 attempts. SF Jenna Whitmire Jenna Whitmire 5'8" | SF Artesia | 2026 State NM had 9 points, while C Loring Wagner had 8. Both players each recorded 8 rebounds and 3 made field-goals.
Kirtland Central takes down Gallup 61-47
The second ‘Final Four’ matchup was a 11:30 meeting between The No. 1 Broncos and the No. 4 Bengals. This was a rematch from last years (2023) 4A Championship game, that saw Gallup come away with a 57-47 victory. However, it was a different story this time as KC led the entire game — 31:30 of 32:00 minutes — with their biggest lead reaching 15.
In spite of the 14 point victory, the Broncos shot just 33.9 percent from the field, going 21/62 overall BUT overcame the pedestrian shooting performance by playing great defense. The Bengals had 27(!) turnovers and had just 9 assists altogether; A recipe for disaster for a team with aspirations of going back-to-back.
KC’s Allyson Tsosie recorded a double-double putting the Broncos on her back. The talented 8th grader (that’s right, 8th grader!) finished with a game-high 22 points — 15 coming in the first half — 12 rebounds and 6 steals. Senior Emilia Clani Emilia Clani PG Kirtland Central | 2024 State NM chipped in with 10 points, an encouraging sign as she had just 2 points in the quarterfinals vs No. 8 Valencia.
Junior Rylie Whitehair Rylie Whitehair 6'2" | C Gallup | 2025 State NM did all she could to keep Gallup in the game, logging a double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds. The 6’0” center went 4/9 from the field and was a perfect 8/8 on free-throws.