Albuquerque High beats Volcano Vista 64-42

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.</em> — Albuquerque High never trailed and led wire-to-wire Tuesday night, cruising past Volcano Vista 64-42 in a non-district season opener.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs, who won the 5A District 5 title last season and finished 21-6 with a trip to the Round of 16, returned nearly their entire core. Volcano Vista, which went 16-12 and also reached the Round of 16 a year ago, brought back most of its key pieces as well, setting up an early-season measuring stick between two programs expecting to contend again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albuquerque High wasted no time showing its potential. A stifling 1-2-2 press that collapsed into man-to-man defense suffocated the Hawks all night, while crisp ball movement and a relentless pace overwhelmed Volcano Vista's 2-3 zone.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs opened on a 9-2 run and took a 17-8 lead after one quarter. They pushed the margin to 30-18 by halftime and poured it on in the third, outscoring the Hawks 19-10 to lead 49-28 entering the fourth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freshman point-guard [player_tooltip player_id='1356317' first='Abrielle' last='Pavia'] stole the show, scoring a game-high 18 points with silky handles and a deadly mid-range game. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='648201' first='Lailah' last='Bouldin'] (13 points, 10 in the second half) and [player_tooltip player_id='648216' first='Maliyah' last='Lee'] (11 points, multiple assists) were equally impressive, stretching the floor and making the right play every trip down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reserve [player_tooltip player_id='1068677' first='Layla' last='Gonzales'] gave Albuquerque High a huge spark off the bench, drilling three 3-pointers on her way to 9 points. Center [player_tooltip player_id='648197' first='Savannah' last='Combs'], in her long-awaited Bulldogs debut, controlled the paint with 6 points, multiple blocks, and tough rebounding position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista simply couldn't match the tempo or find clean looks against Albuquerque High's pressure. The Hawks got some open shots but struggled to convert while the Bulldogs feasted in transition. [player_tooltip player_id='648236' first='Jalysa' last='Hines'] and [player_tooltip player_id='901145' first='Haylo' last='Whiteman'] each scored 9 points to lead Volcano Vista, providing perimeter buckets and plays off the dribble.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What's Next</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Albuquerque High (1-0) hosts Cibola (0-1) on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 7:00 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volcano Vista (0-1) travels to Sandia (1-1) on Monday, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->