Elite Eight Recap, Final Four Bound Teams

<p>With the Final Four now determined for the 2024 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships, let's recap the Quarterfinal Round or Elite Eight for the 5A and 4A levels. </p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4A MATCHUPS</h2>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">No. 3 Artesia rallies to defeat No. 11 Deming 47-39</h2>   <p>The first game of the quarterfinal round got off to a slow start, especially for Artesia. However the Bulldogs bounced back and found their groove. The Bulldogs closed the 2nd quarter on a 10-2 run, taking a six point lead into the half (21-15). Artesia stuck with the game-plan and made an emphasis on getting the ball inside. The Bulldogs outscored the Wildcats 24-14 in Paint-Points and more than doubled their free-throw attempts (Artesia: 17/29 | Deming: 9/13)</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='878754' first='Lorin' last='Wagner'] had a game-high 15 points and was an absolute force in the interior. The 6'0” senior was clogging up the lane on defense, grabbing rebounds and punishing opposing defender on the block.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">No. 4 Gallup takes down No. 5 Portales 66-56</h2>   <p>Despite being down 13 at the break, Portales entered the 4th trailing by just 3. Just as the momentum shifted to the Rams, it went back to the Bengals. Gallup outscored Portales 19-12 in the final period, punching their ticket to the Final Four.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='467051' first='Rylie' last='Whitehair'] totaled 20 points and 11 rebounds, scoring both inside and outside the arc. Whitehair has no problem stepping out and hitting the 3ball (top of the key) but thrives down low using power dribbles and drop steps. Adriell Thomas chipped in with 11 points and 5 assists but her biggest contribution was putting the nail in the coffin with her free-throws (7/10). </p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sartans survive in OT 40-36</h2>   <p>With 6:23 left in the 4th quarter, SPX trailed by seven points (30-23) and just saw SG [player_tooltip player_id='385929' first='Alyssa' last='Maes'] pick up her fourth foul. The Sartans were able to string together multiple stops and tied the game with 31.2 seconds remaining thanks to a pair of free-throws by [player_tooltip player_id='458557' first='Catalina' last='Anaya'] which ultimately forced OT. Anaya finished with 8 points, 6 assists, 7 steals and 10 rebounds, 9 of which were offensive! [player_tooltip player_id='385929' first='Alyssa' last='Maes'] had a team-high 14 points (FG: 4/16) and 8 rebounds while Forward [player_tooltip player_id='565812' first='Macy' last='Freeze'] logged a Double-Double with 10 points and 10 boards.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Broncos cruise past Jaguars 50-34</h2>   <p>Kirtland Central moves to 27-3 on the season after getting the 16 point win over Valencia Tuesday night. The No. 1 Broncos held the No. 8 Jaguars to 26.2 percent from the field, limiting Valencia to just two makes from behind the arc on 17 attempts. As for the Broncos, they shot 44.4 percent from deep, going 4/9. </p>   <p>Keira Beal-Gleason led the Broncos with 15 points and 7 rebounds. The Senior was outstanding with her cuts to the basket and did a great job attacking close outs.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">5A MATCHUPS </h2>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">No. 4 Volcano defeats No. 5 Mayfield; Villarreal gets 400th career Win</h2>   <p>The first 5A quarterfinal matchup was a definitely a hard fought game. Both teams shot below 20 percent from the field (Mayfield: 11/57 | Volcano: 10/59) and had a tough time getting any sort of relief points. </p>   <p>When the Hawks needed a play to be made it was their seniors who stepped up. [player_tooltip player_id='412420' first='Lilliana' last='Duncan'] had a team-high 10 points and [player_tooltip player_id='357657' first='Taejhuan' last='Hill'] who was absolute beast on the glass, finished with 23 rebounds, scoring 8 points.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sydney and [player_tooltip player_id='1068188' first='Kaiyah' last='Benally'] power Sandia past Eldorado 64-40</h2>   <p>This midday matchup was arguably the most anticipated game of the Elite Eight, as it featured the top two players from the class of 2025, Sandia's [player_tooltip player_id='391103' first='Sydney' last='Benally'] and Eldorado's [player_tooltip player_id='370329' first='Bella' last='Hines']</p>   <p>The Eagles came out swinging but the Matadors stayed poised. After 8 minutes of action, the game was tied 16-16. Over the next three quarters, Sandia outscored Eldorado 48-24, ultimately getting the 24-point victory.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='391103' first='Sydney' last='Benally'] had a game-high 21 points and was feeling it from distance. The junior PG was on fire in catch & shoot situations, going 5/6. Younger Sibling Kaiyah — an 8th grader — had 16 points off the bench, going 6/7 from the field. Kaiyah has an elite handle for her age and is very shifty.</p>   <p>As for Hines, the star CG finished with 20 points and saw ‘box-and 1' coverage all night with constant blitzes and traps sent her way.</p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Farmington takes down Organ Mountain 65-31</h2>   <p>Farmington continued their stellar play dominating Organ Mountain on both ends of the floor. The Scorpions held the Knights to just 10 field-goals and outscored OM in both Fast-Break Points (22-0!) and Paint-Points (52-16!).<br>Four players reached double-figures highlighted by [player_tooltip player_id='391245' first='Kapiolani' last='Anitielu']'s game-high 21 points. Kapiolani also had 8 assists and 7 steals. Younger sister Kjani was cooking early on, getting to her spots off the dribble, eventually finishing with 14 points. Guard [player_tooltip player_id='828810' first='Caris' last='Dale'] tallied 14, cashing in on 3s and fast break layups. [player_tooltip player_id='814478' first='Ayana' last='Toledo'] who had 10, went 4/6 from the floor. </p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Clay's 19 leads Hobbs past La Cueva 68-44</h2>   <p>Capping off the evening was the highly anticipated rematch between No. 1 Hobbs and No. 8 La Cueva. The teams met earlier in the season which resulted in a Bears win. This was a physical QF game that saw 4 technical fouls and a combined 48 free-throw attempts.</p>   <p>Hobbs led for 26 minutes and had four players in double-figures. [player_tooltip player_id='458555' first='Bhret' last='Clay'] had a team-high 19 points capitalizing on free-throws and driving layups. [player_tooltip player_id='467050' first='Kyndle' last='Cunningham'] and [player_tooltip player_id='458556' first='Brynn' last='Hargrove'] each had 11 but got theirs in different ways; Cunningham did her damage around the rim while Hargrove connected on three 3's. [player_tooltip player_id='467055' first='Nakia' last='Mojica'] had a quiet 10 points but she dished out 6 assists, getting her teammates quality looks. </p>   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">FINAL FOUR MATCHUPS</h2>   <p>4A: No. 3 Artesia vs No. 2 SPX @ 8 a.m. | No. 1 Kirtland Central vs No. 4 Gallup @ 11:30 a.m.</p>   <p>Bulldogs (22-6) vs Sartans (24-3) | Bengals (23-8) Broncos (27-3)</p>   <p>5A: No. 3 Farmington vs No. 2 Sandia @ 9:45 a.m. | No. 1 Hobbs vs No. 4 Volcano Vista @ 1:15 p.m.</p>   <p>Scorpions (26-4) vs Matadors (26-3) | Eagles (26-3) vs Hawks (23-5)</p>

With the Final Four now determined for the 2024 Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships, let's recap the Quarterfinal Round or Elite Eight for the 5A and 4A levels.