By Eric Butler
MaxPreps.com
A whirlwind of tournaments over the last month around New Mexico came to an end over the past week and it was the small, cramped gymnasium of Hope Christian in Albuquerque that served as the stage for one of the best gatherings of top teams.
For the Hope boys and the Santa Fe Indian School girls, the kind of success they experienced is what they hope to replicate at the state basketball tournaments in March.
The Hope Christian gym got a bit more stuffed than usual when Santa Fe Indian, which typically brings large followings, won the girls tournament for the second year in a row.
The Braves beat Mora 35-25 on Saturday (Jan. 17) by breaking open a two-point game early in the fourth quarter.
"I think what won the game for us was our patience. We didn't force anything," said SFIS senior guard April Abeyta, who had 12 points.
Santa Fe Indian (11-4) took the air out of the ball with a spread offense in the last half of the third quarter as the Braves protected a five-point advantage.
The patience of the victors was, at least in part, tested by some of their own fans – who made up the majority of spectators in the jam-packed Hope gymnasium.
"They packed it in and I think they were forced to come out a little more when we went to certain offenses," SFIS coach Cindy Roybal said. "We were content to have a lead and hold on to it. It was a real test for us, because if you heard the crowd, it was 'Shoot, shoot, shoot.'
Roybal was fairly certain Braves' fans were part of the chorus.
"Probably, sure – absolutely. They're used to shooting," Roybal said.
After Mora (12-4) made the score 23-21 on a 3-pointer by Amanda Padilla with two seconds left in the third, Santa Fe Indian began to find the seams.
Sophomore Jenine Coriz hit a runner in the lane to start the fourth period, which was followed by two field goals from post player Mariah Elote. The six-point run was aided by Rangerettes' turnovers that kept Mora from running its own offense.
With four minutes left in the game, Abeyta drove into the paint and hit a shot off the backboard for a 31-21 S.F. Indian lead.
"They're a good defensive team,” Abeyta said. "They have good shooting too, but we were able to keep that at a minimum, I guess."
In the boys championship, Hope Christian won its own event by thumping Class 3A foe Portales 72-50.
The visiting Rams felt they had a chance with top-ranked Hope Christian on Saturday if they could prevent the Huskies from getting off to a fast start.
But that didn't happen, however, as juniors Kyle Elliott and Matt Murphy rained down 3-pointers on the visitors and Hope (14-3) took the title.
Elliott hit a pair of treys to start the game and later in the first quarter Murphy scored nine points in a row off of three long-range bombs as the Huskies roared out to a 24-5 lead. By the time Elliott gunned in his fourth 3-pointer to start the second quarter, Hope held a 32-11 advantage.
"After my second three, I guess I just felt it from then on," said Elliott, who finished with 19 points.
Portales coach Mark Gallegos, whose team was led by Billy Good's 16 points, said the start of the contest was not what he was hoping for as the Rams' chance to control tempo went awry early.
"We knew what they were going to run, but we just didn't come out and execute," Gallegos said.
"It's probably the third game of the season that we've had a box-and-one put on Matt Murphy," Hope Christian coach Jim Murphy said of his son. "But it shows our depth. One game, it was Josh Groenig who stepped up. Last night and tonight it was Josh Elliott.
"It just shows that we don't just have a bunch of individuals, we've got a good team.”
Portales (9-7) was resilient, though, and the Rams didn't let the lead grow any larger for the time being. In fact, an 8-3 start to the second half brought the large bulge down to an 11-point advantage.
Up 47-36 two minutes into the third period, a free throw and then a field goal from Arren Wells kicked off an 18-3 run that stretched the Huskies lead to 23 points and gave Hope firm control of the contest.
