Los Lunas runs away from Centennial, 49-26

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>LOS LUNAS, N.M</em>. — In a hard-fought battle on November 29, 2025, the Los Lunas Tigers improved to 2-0 with a convincing 49-26 non-district victory over the visiting Centennial Hawks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers, coming off a 23-7 campaign in 2024-25 that ended in the Round of 16, leaned on suffocating full-court pressure and transition opportunities to pull away. Los Lunas deployed a 2-2-1 press that flowed into a 2-3 zone, while Centennial answered with its own 2-2-1 look. The result was a physical, low-scoring affair filled with deflections, contested shots, and relentless effort from both sides — no cheap shots, just two proud programs laying it all on the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial, which went 12-16 a year ago and also reached the Round of 16, showed flashes of crisp ball movement under Head Coach Matt Abney, but struggled mightily to convert. The Hawks were often too unselfish, passing up open looks and hesitating to attack close-outs. Los Lunas made them pay, holding Centennial to single-digit scoring in every quarter — including a brutal 4-point second period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quarter-by-quarter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1Q: Los Lunas 10, Centennial 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Half: Los Lunas 21, Centennial 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>3Q: Los Lunas 36, Centennial 21</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Final: Los Lunas 49, Centennial 26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1068499' first='Kayla' last='Finley'] was the story of the night for Los Lunas. The explosive 5'11" forward was everywhere — finishing in transition, crashing the glass, and protecting the rim with weak-side blocks. Finley poured in a game-high 20 points (including a pair of triples) and looked every bit the emerging star under Head Coach Manny Vigil.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior center McKenzie Brooks added 11 points, doing most of her damage on deep post touches while also stepping out to drain a three from the top of the key.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Centennial, senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='902473' first='Annabelle' last='Molina'] provided the lone bright spot off the bench with 6 points — all coming on back-to-back third-quarter threes that sparked a brief 8-2 Hawks run. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1259134' first='Alanna' last='Perrault'] added 5 points and was one of the few Hawks able to handle Los Lunas' pressure, repeatedly splitting traps and getting into the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the win, Los Lunas has now opened the 2025-26 season with two dominant home performances against District 3-5A opponents (68-45 over Las Cruces, 49-26 over Centennial).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What's Next</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial (0-1) visits Rio Grande (1-0) on Thursday, December 5 at 5:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Lunas (2-0) hosts undefeated Eldorado (2-0) on Wednesday, December 4 at 7:00 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->