Toppers Defeat Vikings To Progress In 2023 State Playoffs

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on March 5, 2023
- 7:47 pm

Tara McDonald and Nevaeh Richardson face off to start the quarter final game played Friday evening in Griffith Gymnasium. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com

Michelle Macias drives past Nevaeh Richardson to score in the first half. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com

By MIKE COTE
Sports
Los Alamos Daily Post

Things got a little more interesting than expected at the end of the Los Alamos Hilltopper-Valley Vikings first round playoff game Friday night.

Los Alamos’ girls basketball team led by 15 points at the half and as many as 18 points in its game against Valley at Griffith Gymnasium, but a big individual effort by Valley guard Iliana Aragon got her team back into the thick of things.

In the fourth quarter, however, with the Vikings in striking distance, Abby Martinez and Tara McDonald hit huge buckets to give the Hilltoppers a little breathing room.

Those plays helped the Hilltopper girls secure a 48-38 win over Valley and a trip to the Class 4A state tournament second round.

That game was broadcast on the Los Alamos Daily Post’s YouTube channel.

McDonald, the team’s center, came up with a steal at the Valley free throw line, and she took the ball coast-to-coast late in the fourth quarter to all but put the game away.

McDonald, who was the dominant rebounding force underneath both baskets, and Martinez, who had success on the offensive end driving to the basket, were two of the main reasons Los Alamos (20-7) was able to go up big early and hold on late.

Martinez had a team-high 14 points, including 9 points in the second half. GG Romero added 14 points, with 9 of her points coming after the break as well. Guard Carley Holland finished with 8 points.

The Vikings (16-12), the No. 11 seed in the tournament, struggled to get on track in the first half, coming up with just 8 points, while the Hilltoppers dominated.

But Los Alamos, the sixth seed, went cold from the floor in the fourth quarter and the Vikings, behind Aragon, took advantage. Aragon had 12 points in the final quarter as her team cut the lead down to just 6 in the waning seconds.

Aragon finished with a game-high 17 points. She was the only Viking in double-figures.

With the win, Los Alamos advances to the tournament second round where it will have a rematch with the St. Pius X Sartans. St. Pius, which defeated Los Alamos during the regular season, cruised to a 59-40 victory over Portales to advance.

Tuesday’s Los Alamos-St. Pius game is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. at University Arena in Albuquerque.

Also on that side of the tournament bracket, Gallup and Valencia will face off Tuesday. Second-seeded Gallup crushed 15th-seeded Albuquerque Academy 70-34, while 10th-seeded Valencia pulled off the only upset of the first round, knocking off seventh-seeded Silver 37-31.

In the other Class 4A state tournament first-round matchups, top-seeded Kirtland Central blasted 16th-seeded Deming 64-22, eighth-seeded Bloomfield held off ninth-seeded Highland 47-44, fifth-seeded Artesia topped Los Alamos’ district opponent Moriarty 54-50, and fourth-seeded Hope Christian held off a tougher-than-expected challenge from 13th-seeded Lovington, 47-44.

Carley Holland gets past the defense to score in the first half, she had 8 points for the game. Photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com