Opening Tip
Girls Basketball Message Board | Scores and Top Performers
Coming from an area where girls hoops can sell-out it’s always strange to come down to the metro area and see only a handful of fans watching some great teams play hoops. Despite that, the competition was great to see with a number of southern teams making the trip north. At the Mel Otero tournament hosted by Rio Rancho it was Centennial that impressed me the most, and Roswell that kept me entertained. Of course, your Las Cruces and Eldorado are just as impressive as they come, but the competition didn’t stand up quite as high. Espanola I can let off the hook with losing to Las Cruces and Eldo’ and then taking care of business against Valencia. And Clovis was shockingly shorter than I initially thought, yet they somehow picked up a big win against Valencia as well. A rough start for Rio Rancho got only rougher, but they showed that they were in it with Las Cruces for most of the game. Still plenty of hoops left for these teams but the Mel Otero tourney didn’t disappoint.
Early Timeout
Mayfield! What happened? I understand you dropped one against a team like Hope Christian, but Academy too? Maybe it’s that early season funk that some teams get after having an undefeated streak. Am I worried? Nope. But the wins could’ve helped come March.
Fast Break – Player Watch
Brooklyn Calderazzo (Guard - Centennial)
Just the matchup alone against Roswell with Jaedyn De La Cerda made this must-see hoops. I haven’t been able to see much of the south, but seeing Calderazzo spot-up and hit those 3-balls is money just about every time. Her team does a great job of finding her wide open so if you’re thinking of going zone someone better stick to Calderazzo.
Jaedyn De La Cerda (Guard – Roswell)
What more can you say about this kid? The UNM commit put on a show over the week at Rio Rancho and didn’t disappoint. The chemistry with her teammates and playmaking made for some fun hoops. Never mind the raining 3s she hit from distance. What stood out was her clutch play to score when her team needed a basket and the leadership and demeanor she displayed on the court.
Sydney Candelaria (Guard/Forward – Eldorado)
The dangerous lefty from Eldo’ made her mark despite the Lady Eagles having to settle for the consolation championship. Candelaria was deadly from all parts of the floor, but my favorite play from her was a beautiful touch pass in transition that she could’ve easily taken herself. She showed great poise and control in her scoring and few defenses could stop her. She’ll be one to keep an eye on come March.
Hanna Valencia (Guard – Hope Christian)
Valencia has what few guards in girls’ hoops have and that’s height. Of course, that paired with her ability to score and dish to her teammates makes her so difficult to matchup with defensively. She made a number of timely plays for her team, and handles the press so well. She attacks the hoop with some surprising strength and isn’t afraid to get into the paint to grab an offensive rebound.
Quick Top 4 Rankings
With four weeks down and a number of tournament matchups to measure teams, here are the new Top-4 rankings after Week 4.
Class 6A
1. Carlsbad – They haven’t lost and just won another tournament. Some may argue they haven’t played top tier 6A teams yet, but as soon as January hits and they start that super-south district they have what it takes to come out on top.
2. Eldorado – Candelaria is so good. The lefty with all the right moves in attacking the hoop. She’s unbelievably good at moving without the ball. And it’s not just her leading the team. With an athletic, in-your-face player like forward Catessa Duran to help grab rebounds and defend, this Eldorado team is one to keep watching.
3. Las Cruces – The Lady Bulldawgs are so well balanced in their scoring that you can’t just watch Sarah Abney and Janessa Johnson. Las Cruces fell short of the Mel Otero championship this week but picked up some dominant wins against Espanola Valley and Rio Rancho. They may not have a lot of size, but these Lady Bulldawgs sure play some great defense from what I saw this weekend.
4. Cibola – No Corbyn Cunningham or Amaya Brown? That’s okay. Cibola always seemed to me more like a defensive oriented team that would more than likely win by a large margin based off of whatever turnovers they forced teams into committing. Despite having to go through most of the season without their standouts, the Lady Cougars have found plenty of scoring from Kavionna Brown, Olivia Barela, Janessa Negron, and Tamara Morris.
Class 5A
1. Roswell – They’re not perfect, but the chemistry is there with the Lady Coyotes. Led by De La Cerda, Roswell battle their way through plenty of 6A competition this early in the season. In fact, the Lady Coyotes have only 2 losses and each of those was against 6A competition. They’ll have a great test against the number one team in 6A, Carlsbad.
2. Bloomfield – They’re defensive-minded, have better shooting guard play, and have a fairly good frontcourt. Bloomfield is making their mark in 5A early with two signature wins on the road in Los Lunas and a home thrashing of Shiprock. Does Bloomfield have more to say? I think so. They’ll have a chance to make some more noise at Los Lunas’ tournament at the end of the month.
3. Espanola Valley – The Lady Sundevils may not have wanted the performance they had at Rio Rancho’s tournament this week, but they made the best of it with a nice Head-to-Head win against Valencia for 7th place. Alexis Lovato is a workhorse in the paint, and EV showed some potential to shoot well from distance. We’ll have to wait and see more.
4. Albuquerque Academy – Well, well. The Chargers don’t initially come across as title contenders but when you’re able to execute and have a talent like Sophie Long, you definitely show potential. Academy dropped one against Cleveland but picked up two great wins against Onate and Mayfield in their home tournament. Maybe Espanola Valley should watch out because if this team continues to play well into the district they may come out on top.
Class 4A
1. Hope Christian – What more can you say about this team this early? They’ve shown the ability to dominate on both ends of the floor and have standout talent with Valencia and Lewis. They waltzed right into the Academy tournament and walked away with wins against top tier 6A talents Mayfield, Cibola, and La Cueva.
2. Robertson – No tournament action for the Lady Cardinals, but they’ve shown nothing but complete dominance against teams which has led to their 6-0 start. The real test comes later this week when they’ll host fellow top 4A team, Portales in a much anticipated Top-3 matchup.
3. Portales – It took some time for Portales to finally get some wins under their belt, but they got plenty so far. 4-0 with a tournament win at Santa Fe has the Lady Rams should have them happy, but they’ll be tested this week against two Top 5 4A teams in West Las Vegas and Robertson.
4. Moriarty – Runner-ups to their own home tournament because of their lone loss this season to a surprising St. Pius X team shouldn’t have Moriarty down. They’ve picked up some interesting wins against Belen, Taos, and Pojoaque Valley. Led by Alyssa Adams the Lady Pintos won’t find more tournament action until January’s Sandia Prep invite.
Off-The-Bench
Hey, Los Alamos! I know you came in last in Academy’s tournament, but if there’s one thing I liked from y’all it was your grit and tenacity. Even when you were down 20 or 30 you never let up that intensity that so many coaches demand from their players. Did you struggle shooting? Yes, but you got my respect as far as your defensive intensity goes. You can argue that you did lose to some of the best 6A has to offer in Cibola, Mayfield, and Onate. Lucky for you, you’re not in 6A and there’s plenty of statement wins to be made in 5A. I liked what I saw and that’s why I’m placing you in this week’s dark horse section of “Off-The-Bench”.
Beyond The Arc
The only downside to this past week was some awful comments made by some horrible people at Rio Rancho’s Mel Otero tournament. I don’t know who they were if they were even parents or just general fans, but their comments and behavior was just unacceptable. It took every bit of patience from me to not chew out these individuals in their tasteless commentary on a specific player and coach while the game was going on. Look, I understand we all get wrapped up emotionally in our sports and those that we care about who play or coach the game. We’re all guilty of getting upset from time to time. But it should never come to a point of making snide remarks about someone’s kid out on the court or leaving before the game is over because you “can’t watch this trash.”
The only trash was that attitude and I’m glad they took themselves out.
