Jaguars lose in 4A state quarterfinals

Albuquerque

It became obvious in the first few minutes of the 4A Girls State Basketball quarterfinal match-up between No. 5 Valencia and No. 4 Hope Christian the outcome would be decided by either the outside shooting of the Jaguars or the inside attack of the Huskies.

On Tuesday morning, in front of a sparse crowd for the 8 a.m. tipoff at the Pit, it was size and length that carried Hope to the 48-35 victory.

“Their length bothered us,” admitted Raymond Montoya, VHS coach. “They got a lot of tips.”

Hope forced 12 first-half turnovers, 19 for the game.

The contest opened with a three-pointer by Savannah Saavedra to give Valencia its only lead. Saavedra led the Jaguars with 12 points, while Naima Corrales added nine.

The Jaguars trailed 9-8 after one quarter and 22-15 at halftime.

VHS (22-7) was very much within striking distance, but Hope (25-6) started fast in the second half while the Jaguars shot just 20 percent during the third quarter. “We saw a couple of shots not fall and kind of got nervous,” said Valencia’s Jaiden Montgomery. “That’s where things kind of got shaky.”

Valencia’s Francesca Otero put it this way, “We got a little too excited.”

The Hope advantage grew to 32-15 in the third quarter and 41-21 in the fourth. Saavedra and Otero each knocked down a pair of treys in the second half but VHS was not able to cut the lead to single digits.

Almost all of Hope’s points were scored within 10 feet of the basket, often off fast breaks or post moves.

Mia Bishop, 6-1 senior, and her sister, Abrianna, 6-0 junior, dominated on defense and offense. Abrianna scored 18 points to lead all scorers, but pointed to Mia’s defense as a key factor.

“People are scared to drive in with her size,” the coach said.

Valencia was without one of their taller players, Eden Montgomery, who has been sidelined with an injury.

“We wanted to control the pace of the game, be patient on offense,” coach Montoya said, but the Jaguars couldn’t do it consistently in the 13-point setback.

Montoya also made note of the early start time, sarcastically saying, “Three years in a row. We love this 8 a.m. game.”

Valencia, which reached the postseason for the fifth straight year, will say goodbye to seniors Montgomery, Saavedra and Otero.

“We came a long way,” said Saavedra.

“We had a great season,” Otero added. “I love these girls like my sisters.”

VHS defeated St. Pius 43-40 Friday in the first round.  Thursday, Hope will play No. 1 Kirtland Central.