Abigail Martinez reaches for a loose ball under the Topper basket in the first quarter. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
GG Romero takes a shot over the defense of Alyssa Maes, she scored 11 points in the game. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
By MIKE COTE
Sports
Los Alamos Daily Post
With time winding down in Tuesday’s state girls basketball Class 4A quarterfinal, the Los Alamos Hilltoppers had three chances to tie the score with the St. Pius X Sartans.
But those three late possessions for Los Alamos proved fruitless, and St. Pius held on for a 40-36 victory at University Arena in Albuquerque.
With just a bucket separating the two teams, the sixth-seeded Hilltoppers turned the ball over, shot an ill-advised 3-pointer, and got trapped in the deep right corner by the Sartan defense.
That game was broadcast on the Los Alamos Daily Post’s YouTube channel.
Tuesday’s loss ended a very good season for the Hilltoppers, in which they posted 20 wins. It was their second loss this season to St. Pius, the three seed in this year’s postseason – the Sartans defeated Los Alamos at Griffith Gymnasium a month earlier by a similar score.
Los Alamos led for most of the first half, hanging on to a 14-13 in an offensively slow first half.
St. Pius (22-5) tried working the ball inside for much of the first half, but Los Alamos’ defense, which was smaller inside than the Sartans’ offense, held its ground and allowed only 3 field goals inside before the break.
In the third quarter, however, the Sartans were able to get penetration from their guards and that opened up some shooting opportunities. With their fast second half start, the Sartans quickly built up an 8-point lead before the Hilltoppers bounced back.
Sofia Trujillo hit two big buckets on back-to-back possessions for the Hilltoppers as they fought back. Trujillo and GG Romero had 3-pointers in the quarter to help their team to knot the score at 28-28 heading into the final frame.
St. Pius again got some penetration in the fourth quarter to take the lead before Los Alamos’ late chances to tie the score. St. Pius’ Catalina Anaya canned two pressure free throws with just seconds left to seal the win.
Tuesday’s game was the finale in the careers of six Hilltopper seniors: Michelle Macias, MacKenzie Echave, Kaitlyn Velarde, Catherine Trujillo, Carley Holland and Tara McDonald. Holland and McDonald, who start for Los Alamos, had 8 points and 6 points in the game, and McDonald had 6 rebounds.
Romero was the leading scorer for the Hilltoppers with 11 points, while Trujillo added 7. Point guard Marisol Valdez had 11 for St. Pius.
Carley Holland scores on a layup. She had 7points foe the game. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Sofia Trujillo and Abigail Martinez pressure Marisol Valdez near the Sartans basket. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
Tara McDonald grabs a rebound under the Topper basket in the 3rd quarter, she scored 8 points for the game. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
The Topper Cheer team roots for the Hilltoppers. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com
