Caris Dale’s late 3 lifts Farmington past Gallup in 53–50 thriller

By Truman Begaye
Special to the Times

GALLUP — The Farmington Lady Scorpions withstood a furious second-half rally and escaped with a 53–50 win over the Gallup Lady Bengals on Tuesday night at Gallup High School, sealing the game on a late 3-pointer from senior Caris Dale.

Gallup erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit and tied the game at 50–50 in the closing minute before Dale knocked down the game-winner with 27 seconds remaining, extending Farmington’s winning streak to six games.

Senior Kjani Anitielu led the Scorpions with 13 points, while Dale, Chenoa Parrish, and Carley Conly each finished with 12. Senior Arianna Charley added four points as Farmington improved to 14–1 on the season.

The loss snapped Gallup’s seven-game winning streak and marked just the Bengals’ second defeat of the year. Junior Kayden Tsosie led Gallup with 19 points, including 3-of-5 shooting from the free-throw line, while senior Marie Nez added eight points.

“Sometimes we have to play not to lose and keep attacking the basket, but we allowed them to get back into the game by pulling off,” Farmington head coach Tom Adair said of playing conservatively during Gallup’s run. “I feel like we have better athletes, so we want to keep attacking. We don’t want to play soft – we want to play our game, not their game. Despite that, the most important thing is we won the game and I’ll take that.”

Both teams started slowly in the opening quarter before Farmington used a 6–0 run to take a 12–4 lead. Gallup answered with a small surge, cutting the deficit to 12–10 after a layup by junior Payton Johnson. Dale closed the quarter with five straight points, giving the Scorpions a 17–10 edge.

Dale led all scorers with seven points in the first quarter, while Parrish added four. Anitielu, Charley, and Conly each chipped in two. Tsosie paced Gallup with four points, while Paisley Coho, Johnson, and Summer Joe each knocked down a basket.

The Scorpions maintained control in the second quarter. After the teams traded baskets early, Gallup went cold and managed just two points over the final five minutes, both from the free-throw line. Farmington outscored the Bengals 15–10 in the period to take a 32–20 halftime lead.

Conly led the quarter with five points, Parrish scored four, and Dale, Anitielu, and Charley each added a basket. Tsosie again led Gallup with six points, while Coho added a field goal and Marie Nez and Camira Cooper-Randles split free throws.

Farmington appeared to be in control early in the third quarter when Anitielu opened the half with a 3-pointer, pushing the Scorpions’ lead to its largest at 15 points. Gallup responded with urgency, going on a 9–2 run over the next four minutes to cut the deficit to 37–29.

The teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter as Farmington clung to a 44–38 lead entering the fourth. Anitielu scored six points in the period, while Conly added four and Parrish chipped in two. Gallup’s rally was fueled by Mykeia Vicenti’s six points, along with continued scoring from Tsosie and timely baskets from Cooper-Randles, Joe, and Laylana Williams.

The final quarter belonged to Gallup’s rally. Tsosie led the Bengals’ charge, scoring six points in the period and converting the tying basket to make it 50–50 in the closing minute and a half. Gallup applied full-court pressure on the ensuing inbound and briefly regained possession. An offensive foul away from the basket, however, returned the ball to Farmington. The Lady Bengals earned one more chance when the Scorpions turned the ball over with 51 seconds remaining.

Gallup attacked the lane, but the layup attempt was too strong and bounced back into Farmington’s hands. Before the Gallup press could fully set, the Scorpions moved the ball quickly. Dale squared up beyond the arc and buried the go-ahead 3-pointer, restoring Farmington’s lead for good.

“That was ice in her veins,” Adair said. “But we had to sit her for a while because she got into foul trouble.”

Dale spent much of the second half on the bench before returning in the closing minutes.

“I just kind of let it fly,” Dale said. “Once I let it go, I knew it was going in. It’s fun playing in atmospheres like this, but it was definitely stressful. They tried to speed us up, but we’ve been together for a while, and we trusted each other until the end.”

Anitielu and Dale each knocked down a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, while Parrish added a basket and Conly went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line. For Gallup, Nez scored four points and Joe added two in the final frame.

Farmington (14–1) plays Hobbs (16–2) on Friday night at neutral site in Moriarty with tipoff scheduled at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday night, Gallup rebounded with a resounding 64-14 win over Belen. The Bengals (13-2) travels to Grants (11-6) on Saturday for a 3 p.m. matchup.

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