A loaded Friday night for all of us as we're in a heated start to district play.
#16 Las Cruces at #12 Alamogordo
Las Cruces (8-10) hopes to shake off a two game slide dropping them to 2-2 in district play when they head to Alamogordo (14-4). The Lady Tigers' Faith Silva is on a hot streak, and if Las Cruces can't manage their turnovers and keep a defender on Silva, it could be a long night for the Lady Bulldawgs.
(5A) #18 Clovis at (4A) #11 Portales
Portales (7-10) got a much needed week long break since their last game. They'll play host to Clovis (7-12) who handed them their first loss of the season in the first game of the season in Clovis. It'll have a lite revenge theme to it, but more importantly, it's one of the last games before each team starts their district. Wins get harder as the season rolls on and both teams need them.
#4 Gallup at #8 Miyamura
Who doesn't love some cross-town rivalry games with a district twist? It's been a fairly one-sided affair between these two teams as Gallup (12-6) owns the rivalry, 20-2. Only in their last six meetings has Miyamura (12-5) been able to get those two wins. Now, more than ever the Lady Patriots will have to prove they're contenders and it starts with a critical home stand against a Gallup team looking to bounce back from their home loss to KC.
#17 Aztec at #16 Bloomfield
The old 550 rivalry comes back as both teams look to rebound from their opening district loss and get one in the win column. Aztec (7-10) comes in with the 4-2 record in January while Bloomfield (10-6) is 8-3 since the start of the new year. But with 11 games in 22 days packed in, I think that poses some problems as we saw when Bloomfield lost the lead at Shiprock and gave up 66 points.
#12 Espanola Valley at Moriarty
Espanola had a great offensive game at home against Pojoaque but they'll get a real road test here as they'll have another test in defending the paint against a team with a serious size advantage. If Espanola (or just Kaylinn Martinez) can find that shooting touch again, it may be a long night for Moriarty. But Moriarty was able to force OT in Los Alamos. Their hungry for a win.
#10 Cloudcroft at #7 Lordsburg
Cloudcroft (12-5) has kind of held their own in the mid-tiers of 2A. No big wins yet for the Lady Bears but no bad losses either. Led by a Laci Toddy, Mariah Barnett, and Kaylee and Britney Hickman, Cloudcroft has made a solid case for a tournament bid. Their toughest test against Lordsburg (10-6) should prove to be valuable if they want to move up their rankings and seeding. Lordsburg is looking to end a two-game drought against formidable opponents. This game plays right into a quality matchup for Anissa Plowman, Analisa Castaneda, and Maria Reyes.
#14 Jemez Valley at #17 Walatowa Charter
This game is not the most important or the brightest in the marquee. I just like that they're a small community with two schools who I think you can literally walk out the front door of each and wave to the other school. Still, Jemez Valley (11-4) has won 7 of their last 8 meetings and are 13-5 overall versus the Lady Cougars of Walatowa Charter (4-4). The little cross street rivalry should be a fun one this year.
#8 Tatum at #7 Elida
Tatum (13-4) is on a four game win streak and look to make it five when they head to Elida (7-3) who also have their own three game win streak at stake. The frenetic defense of Tatum will likely wear down the 7-player roster of Elida, but I don't think Elida will go away that easy. They're one of the more athletic teams in the class, and if they're able to get wins despite having 7 players I think this one could prove to be a lot closer than expected. Keep Tatum out of the paint and off the free throw line and I think Elida has a serious chance to hold off the Lady Coyotes.
If there's any games I missed or ones you're watching closely, feel free to comment below.
