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LOS LUNAS — For most of the first quarter Tuesday, Belen (7-9) was every bit as physical as Los Lunas, one of the most in-your-face girls’ basketball teams in New Mexico, frustrating the fifth ranked team in 5A.
“We knew they were going to be aggressive,” said Sam Gavaldon, coach of 4A BHS. “It was up to us. Are we going to be bitter about it or are we going to be better? I think we stepped up to it.”
However, when Los Lunas coach Manny Vigil went to his bench the tide turned.
“They actually came in and gave us a jump start,” said Vigil. “We were rolling from there.”
A driving hoop by Jacelyn Baca put the Tigers in front 7-5, starting a 23-0 streak that propelled LLHS (12-3) to a 30-8 halftime lead and a 57-14 victory.
Three-pointers by Vayda Golino and Tessa Jaramillo, who had four for the game, were the key blows. Defensively, Kayla Finley had eight steals, as the ball hawking Tigers kept BHS out of their offense.
Jaramillo and Finley each scored 12 points, while Jaelynn Bob had seven for the Eagles.
Before district play begins Tuesday, LLHS meets St. Pius Thursday in the Hope Tournament.
BHS hasn’t played at home since Dec. 17, a stretch of 11 games. That drought ends Tuesday in the district opener.
“We’ve put a lot of miles on our bus. It will be nice to play St. Pius at home,” Gavaldon admitted.
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Before that, the Eagles will play Thursday at top ranked Gallup and Saturday at Albuquerque Academy.
Tuesday, Valencia entertains Grants in the Jaguars first game in District 5-4A.
District action also starts Tuesday for area boys' basketball team, with BHS, LLHS and VHS all on the road.
Belen (7-9), which started the week by defeating Menaul, hosts Gallup Thursday on Military Appreciation Night and then is at St. Pius Tuesday in the first district game.
Valencia (7-9) lost 35-32 at Capital Tuesday, hosts Socorro Thursday and begins district play next Tuesday at Grants.
Los Lunas hosts Hobbs Friday and then Tuesday visits West Mesa to begin the district season.
