Preseason Rankings: 4A Basketball
By: Chantz Atcitty of NMPreps.com
Overview
Hope Christian starts us off in our preseason hoops for 4A girls basketball. Coming off a state championship run, they’re returning their core 4 starting captains: Hannah Valencia, Christine Heisey, Charity Murphy, and Alivia Lewis. Alivia Lewis stars in their frontcourt and provides a quality mismatch for teams in the low-post. They’re bringing back a 6-senior roster and have one of the stronger schedules in 4A including moving to a new district with Portales, Ruidoso, and recently moved Moriarty.
At the second spot at high scoring Shiprock squad is looking to rid of their 2nd place finishes and finally capture a title that’s eluded them for the past few seasons. Although they graduate a number of contributing seniors, they’re returning one of the area’s best all-around player in recent Fort Lewis College commit, Tanisha Begay. They’ll have one of the easier districts with Kirtland Central and Bloomfield moving up a class, but have a chance to pick up some out-of-class wins against state title contenders with their upcoming schedule.
Portales comes in at the number three spot after coming off a 24-4 season and semifinal appearance. They do graduate standout Kambrey Blakey and Sheraya Cox, but return Zamorye Cox and Lindsay Blakey along with five returning varsity players. They’ve been clear favorites in their district for a number of years but with Hope Christian joining their district, it’ll be an interesting race this season. Moriarty drops down a class and come off a 21-8 season and district championship. They too join the new District 4-4A and look to contend with help from Alyssa Adams and Emily Gonzales. West Las Vegas wraps up the Top-5 in 4A girls hoops. Although they graduate a number of key seniors, they will return senior guard Jenika Padilla and Jenna Bustos.
Santa Fe Indian had somewhat of a roller coaster season in regards to some of their wins and losses but found themselves in the state semifinals. They’ll look to return to form without Milan Schimmel (transferred out of state). Ruidoso finally looks to make some noise this season, returning a number of key contributors including Lia Mosher in the frontcourt. Taos will have to look to replace the talents of Midnite Lujan in the frontcourt, but do return a great duo in Aaliyah Quintana and Elena Espinoza. Hatch Valley is seeking another district title, and will be led by senior Taylor Mitchell. Rounding out our Top-10 is Navajo Prep which looks to make an impact heading into their first year in Class 4A. Prep did graduate district standout, Jasmine Coleman, but with only graduating two seniors, they’re returning plenty of experienced youth.
NMPreps.com Pre-Season 4A Rankings
1. Hope Christian
2. Shiprock
3. Portales
4. Moriarty
5. West Las Vegas
6. Santa Fe Indian
7. Ruidoso
8. Taos
9. Hatch Valley
10. Navajo Prep
By: Chantz Atcitty of NMPreps.com
Overview
Hope Christian starts us off in our preseason hoops for 4A girls basketball. Coming off a state championship run, they’re returning their core 4 starting captains: Hannah Valencia, Christine Heisey, Charity Murphy, and Alivia Lewis. Alivia Lewis stars in their frontcourt and provides a quality mismatch for teams in the low-post. They’re bringing back a 6-senior roster and have one of the stronger schedules in 4A including moving to a new district with Portales, Ruidoso, and recently moved Moriarty.
At the second spot at high scoring Shiprock squad is looking to rid of their 2nd place finishes and finally capture a title that’s eluded them for the past few seasons. Although they graduate a number of contributing seniors, they’re returning one of the area’s best all-around player in recent Fort Lewis College commit, Tanisha Begay. They’ll have one of the easier districts with Kirtland Central and Bloomfield moving up a class, but have a chance to pick up some out-of-class wins against state title contenders with their upcoming schedule.
Portales comes in at the number three spot after coming off a 24-4 season and semifinal appearance. They do graduate standout Kambrey Blakey and Sheraya Cox, but return Zamorye Cox and Lindsay Blakey along with five returning varsity players. They’ve been clear favorites in their district for a number of years but with Hope Christian joining their district, it’ll be an interesting race this season. Moriarty drops down a class and come off a 21-8 season and district championship. They too join the new District 4-4A and look to contend with help from Alyssa Adams and Emily Gonzales. West Las Vegas wraps up the Top-5 in 4A girls hoops. Although they graduate a number of key seniors, they will return senior guard Jenika Padilla and Jenna Bustos.
Santa Fe Indian had somewhat of a roller coaster season in regards to some of their wins and losses but found themselves in the state semifinals. They’ll look to return to form without Milan Schimmel (transferred out of state). Ruidoso finally looks to make some noise this season, returning a number of key contributors including Lia Mosher in the frontcourt. Taos will have to look to replace the talents of Midnite Lujan in the frontcourt, but do return a great duo in Aaliyah Quintana and Elena Espinoza. Hatch Valley is seeking another district title, and will be led by senior Taylor Mitchell. Rounding out our Top-10 is Navajo Prep which looks to make an impact heading into their first year in Class 4A. Prep did graduate district standout, Jasmine Coleman, but with only graduating two seniors, they’re returning plenty of experienced youth.
NMPreps.com Pre-Season 4A Rankings
1. Hope Christian
2. Shiprock
3. Portales
4. Moriarty
5. West Las Vegas
6. Santa Fe Indian
7. Ruidoso
8. Taos
9. Hatch Valley
10. Navajo Prep
