Montgomery, Montoya lead Valencia past Grants 54-37

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>LOS LUNAS, N.M.</em> — The Valencia Jaguars opened District play with a dominant home win over Grants, 54-37.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jags entered Tuesday's 4A District 5 meeting, averaging 49.8 points per game. With the 17-point victory, Valencia now moves to 4-3 at home and 13-5 overall in 2024-25.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ultimately, Valencia led wire to wire, never trailed and once had a 25-point lead, which came in the third quarter (37-12).&nbsp;Valencia's offense weaved up top, utilizing dribble hand-off actions, followed by on-ball screens at the top of the key. This led to opportunities for drives and kick-outs, plus trips to the foul-line.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars were led by the duo of [player_tooltip player_id='648209' first='Jaiden' last='Montgomery'] and [player_tooltip player_id='391108' first='Jadyn' last='Montoya'], who combined for 35 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Montgomery played liked a mid-range maestro, finishing with a game-high 19 points thanks to multiple smooth looking pull-up jumpers inside of 12-feet.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Montoya chipped in with 16 points while also dishing out several dimes. The senior shooting-guard made excellent decisions in the half-court, knowing when to attack and when to facilitate.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the flip-side, the Pirates have now have lost back-to-back games, go to 2-5 on the road and sit at 8-11 overall.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grants made a valiant effort to establish a presence inside the lane, but Valencia did a tremendous job of fronting the post and denying entry passes.&nbsp;That said, Grants generated multiple open clean looks inside the three-point line but failed to convert. The Pirates also struggled from the charity stripe, particularly in the first half, going 2/10 on free-throw attempts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior shooting-guard [player_tooltip player_id='1221592' first='Promise' last='Garcia'], had a team-high 14 points with 12 coming in the second half. The Sharpshooting Garcia, connected from both the mid-range and behind the arc, rising up with little to no hesitation.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='1218192' first='Amy' last='Salazar'] and junior Delilah Martinez, each tallied six points for the Pirates, providing relief points around the basket and runners in the lane.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NEXT UP:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valencia (13-5, 1-0) @ St. Pius X (11-6, 1-0) | 1/28 | 7 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Grants (8-11, 0-1) vs St. Pius X (11-6, 1-0) | 1/24 | 7 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->