Class of 2023: Guards Spotlight

After an incredible girls high school basketball season, we were shown great play from players all around the New Mexico community. This included some elite talent and skill from some of the top guards in the state from this past year. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="391175" first="Alexus" last="Lafferty"]- 5’7 Shooting Guard "Tucumcari" Class of 2023 (#5PGHNM)</span> [player_tooltip player_id="391175" first="Alexus" last="Lafferty"] was one of the top guards and players from the Class of 2023 this year. She averaged an impressive 15.5 points per game and was the 12th leading scorer in New Mexico this season. She was one of the op marksman from long range making 63 three-pointers this season. <strong>Alexus</strong> was the 8th leading three-point shooter this season. She had a season high of 25 points this year and four 20-point games this year. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353927" first="Emma" last="Christiano"]- 5’5 Point Guard "Las Cruces" Class of 2023 (#8PGHNM)</span> [player_tooltip player_id="353927" first="Emma" last="Christiano"] was one of the most all around players in the Class of 2023. Her play helped Las Cruces finish 22-8 this season. [player_tooltip player_id="353927" first="Emma" last="Christiano"] averaged 14.3 points per game and was the 18th leading scorer in New Mexico this season. She was a great rebounding Point Guard who averaged 5.0 per game. She was the 4th leading passer averaging 4.9 assists per game this season. She was definitely a pest on the defensive end averaging 3.8 steals per game. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="391176" first="Juliana" last="Ortiz"]- 5’6 Point Guard "Cobre"Class of 2023 (#11PGHNM)</span> Despite a tough regular season for Cobre, <strong>Juliana</strong> had a solid junior season. She led Cobre in scoring averaging 13.8 points per game and shot 70% from the free throw line. <strong>Juliana</strong> had four 20-point games this season and a season high of 28 points vs Cloudcroft on January 8th. <strong>Juliana</strong> made 82 free throws this season which was the 14th most in New Mexico this year. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="391177" first="Amarissa" last="Quintana"]- 5’6 Shooting Guard "Mesa Vista" Class of 2023 (#14PGHNM)</span> [player_tooltip player_id="391177" first="Amarissa" last="Quintana"] had a solid season for Mesa Vista and led them to a 19-9 record this season. She was the teams second leading scorer averaging 12.7 points per game and scored in double-figures in 23 of the 26 games she played in. She is one of the top rated guards in the updated rankings and one of the top players of the Class of 2023. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="391178" first="Alicia" last="Jacquez"]- 5’4 Shooting Guard "Lordsburg" Class of 2023 (#15PGHNM)</span> [player_tooltip player_id="391178" first="Alicia" last="Jacquez"] had a solid junior season and was Lordsburg’s team captain this year. Lordsburg went 13-11 this year and she was the teams leading scorer this season. <strong>Alicia</strong> averaged 11.0 points per game. She was also one of the leaders in the state in assists per game averaging 6.0. <strong>Alicia</strong> had two 20-point games this season and had a season high of 24 points. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">[player_tooltip player_id="353913" first="Kamalani" last="Anitielu"]- 5’7 Point Guard "Farmington" Class of 2023 (#16PGHNM)</span> Farmington’s junior [player_tooltip player_id="353913" first="Kamalani" last="Anitielu"] had a nice season this year. She was the teams second leading scorer averaging 12.8 points per game while leading Farmington to a 28-3 record this year. Farmington made it to the 5A State Semifinals. She displayed much growth from her sophomore year and improved her game all season. <strong>Kamalani</strong> will be a player to watch during her senior year next season.