Farmington Edges Gallup in Thrilling 53-50 Road Win

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>GALLUP, N.M.</em> — In a tense, playoff-like non-district clash between two of New Mexico's top girls basketball teams, the Farmington Scorpions (14-1) demonstrated their championship caliber, never trailing and surviving a late Gallup surge to escape with a hard-fought 53-50 victory over the Bengals (12-2) on Tuesday, Jan. 13.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 5A/4A showdown lived up to the hype from the opening tip. Farmington, winners of five straight and boasting a blistering 58.6 points per game average under head coach Thomas Adair, jumped out to a 10-4 lead and never looked back. They took a 17-10 edge after the first quarter and stretched it to 32-20 by halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gallup, riding a seven-game win streak and averaging 62.0 points under coach Todd McBroom, refused to fold. The Bengals clawed back in the third, trimming the deficit to 44-38 entering the fourth. With the crowd roaring, they knotted the score at 50-50 with 1:32 remaining.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the clutch, Farmington answered. With 32 seconds left, senior [player_tooltip player_id='828810' first='Caris' last='Dale'] drained a dagger three-pointer from the corner to make it 53-50. Gallup had possession on a sideline out-of-bounds with 9 seconds to play but turned it over, sealing the Scorpions' gritty road triumph.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Farmington's balanced senior core delivered in the biggest moments. [player_tooltip player_id='648195' first='Kjani' last='Anitielu'] led the way with a team-high 13 points, including 9 after halftime and several crafty drives. Dale's game-winning triple was the highlight, while [player_tooltip player_id='893565' first='Chenoa' last='Parrish'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1259132' first='Carly' last='Conley'] each poured in 12 points, thriving in their guard-forward two-man game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Gallup, junior standout [player_tooltip player_id='901165' first='Kayden' last='Tsosie'] was electric, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Her slick footwork and ability to shoot over defenders kept the Bengals alive in the half-court. Fellow junior Mariez Nez added 8 points (7 in the second half), sparking a brief third-quarter run with an assist and a bucket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What's Next</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Scorpions (14-1) face a tough test next when they host Hobbs (15-2) on Friday, Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gallup (12-2) hits the road to face Belen (7-8) on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7:00 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->