Sydney Benally scores 33 as Sandia defeats AHS 72-39

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ALBUQUERQUE — The Sandia Matadors got their second road win of the 2023-24 season, after defeating the Albuquerque High Bulldogs Tuesday night 72-39. Extending their winning streak to five games!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sandia set the tone early with their physicality, playing tenacious defense. Going with a full-court press, retreating to man-to-man in the half-court. On offense, the Matadors pushed the tempo, looking to create fast break opportunities. Sandia essentially went 5-out, spreading the floor with no one occupying the paint area, which resulted [player_tooltip player_id='391103' first='Sydney' last='Benally'] having a field day as both a ball handler &amp; as a screener. The speedy Benally finished with a game-high 33 points, wreaking havoc on the AHS backcourt. Sydney did a tremendous job attacking the rim and was phenomenal establishing post position with one or two feet inside the paint.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='391104' first='Hope' last='Giddings'] chipped in with 10 points, getting several layups in transition. Audri Wright, a '3&amp;D' specialist, had 8 points. Wright is a standout defensively, possessing active hands and a high IQ. Wright did a great job hedging on-ball screens, and taking away driving lanes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reserves [player_tooltip player_id='1068188' first='Kaiyah' last='Benally'] &amp; [player_tooltip player_id='357678' first='Olivia' last='Montano'], combined for 16 points, each scoring 8. Kaiyah was an excellent passer out of PnRs, getting the ball to both the screener or other players for open looks. Kaiyah also was able to put the ball on the floor and get a bucket -- pull up jumper from foul-line -- while Montano continued to shoot the ball well from behind the arc (2/4 3PT). Olivia continues improving at relocating, not being stagnant on the perimeter. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='648201' first='Lailah' last='Bouldin'] had a team-high 13 points for the Bulldogs, carrying the team at certain points throughout the game. Bouldin is a fundamentally sound PG with a quick release and great footwork. FR [player_tooltip player_id='839434' first='Zaiyah' last='Hawley'] was solid off the bench scoring 10 points. Hawley had great energy and was able to score in a variety of ways -- floater off the dribble, a catch &amp; shoot deep two AND catch &amp; shoot 3PT, 3-point play off a BLOB set -- stabilizing the second unit. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next Up: 12/14 Sandia (5-0) vs Santa Fe (2-3) @ 5 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Next Up: 12/15 AHS (2-1) vs Chaparral (2-2) @ 5:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->