Kirtland Central Dominates St. Pius X 65-28

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.</em> — The Broncos came to town and left no doubt. Kirtland Central steamrolled St. Pius X 65-28 on Saturday, overwhelming the Sartans with suffocating full-court pressure, crisp ball movement, and red-hot shooting in a game that was decided early.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The defending 4A District 1 champions and last year's state runners-up looked every bit the part. After opening the season with a 68-14 win over Page (AZ), Coach Devon Manning's squad showed why many consider them one of the favorites in Class 4A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Pius X, playing the second night of a back-to-back after splitting their first two games (72-32 win over Los Alamos, 77-56 loss to La Cueva), had no answer for Kirtland Central's intensity. Coach Bree Rode's Sartans — last year's 4A District 5 champions — struggled against the Broncos' relentless on-ball pressure and could not get shots to fall in the half-court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Score by Quarter<br>1Q: Kirtland Central 21 – St. Pius X 7<br>2Q: 33–6 Broncos run → 54–13 at halftime<br>3Q: 59–18 entering the fourth<br>Final: 65–28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>11 different Broncos scored, and the team drained 9 three-pointers.<br>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='893562' first='Haylee' last='Nocki'] led the charge with a game-high 16 points, attacking the basket and knocking down catch-and-shoot triples. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1058917' first='Zoey' last='Benally'] added 14 points, including several crowd-electrifying old-fashioned three-point plays. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1068199' first='Allyson' last='Tsosie'] rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points, getting multiple steals and transition buckets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the flip side, 8th grader Amiyah Cunningham led the Sartans with a team-high 9 points. The 5'9” combo guard showed fearlessness, knocking down a floater and a triple while battling all night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What's Next</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kirtland Central (2-0) hosts Los Alamos (2-3) – Tuesday, Dec. 9 @ 6:00 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Pius X (1-2) hosts Mayfield (2-2) (in-season tournament) – Thursday, Dec. 11 @ 5:00 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->