Gallup girls coast to win over Grants

By Santiago Ramos Jr.
Special to the Times

GRANTS – Class 4A No. 2 ranked and defending state champ Gallup made it look easy coasting to a lopsided 70-40 road win over Grants Saturday night.

Gallup head coach Todd McBroom said that getting his team ready to play a struggling Grants team that’s 2-12 was no issue.

“We push the game the same – doesn’t matter if we’re playing Grants, Kirtland, Volcano or Atrisco whoever it is,” McBroom said. “The whole thing is we want to grow and get better. We want to work on things every game, individually and as a group. That’s how we attack it so we’re ready to go come March wherever we end up.”

It took the 9-2 Lady Bengals nearly a minute and a half to get on the scoreboard but then rolled without a much of a battle over the Lady Pirates.

Junior center Rylie Whitehair, the lone returning starter off last year’s Lady Bengal state championship team, got Gallup on the scoreboard with the game’s opening basket along with a free throw. Grants’ Amy Salazar, who led her team with eight points, scored off a fast break that made it a 3-2 ballgame.

That would be the closest the Lady Pirates would get.

Working inside the paint much of the night, the 6’ 3” Whitehair, who finished with game-high scoring honors with 27 points along with 12 rebounds, came back with another score off the baseline. Freshman 6’ 1” center Kayden Tsosie complimented Whitehair and Gallup’s strong inside game as she scored successive baskets inside along with a free throw that pushed Gallup comfortably ahead 14-4. Another Whitehair basket followed by a trey by senior guard Ashlee Duboise made it 22-7 to close out the opening quarter.

The Lady Bengals found success behind the arc in the second period as junior Alysha Slinkey buried two of Gallup’s 6 three-pointers for the game along with a trey by sophomore Natalie Dixon.

Dealing with Gallup’s constant defensive pressure, Grants struggled from the field in the second quarter scoring six of its 10 points from the free throw line. The Lady Pirates went on a modest 6-0 run late in the first half with a basket and a pair of free throws by Salazar along with a fast break score by Shiann Medina.

Gallup pushed its lead to 30, 47-17, early in the third quarter after senior Adriell Thomas scored. The Lady Bengals put the game into a running clock mode 66-30 after a Whitehair putback with 4:15 remaining in the game before posting a 30-point road win.

With the game in hand from the outset, McBroom rotated his players the entire game.

“That second group when I rotated some bodies we got a good run out of them,” McBroom said. “We got a lot of kids that can hurt you not just one. I know Rylie does a lot on the inside but we got a lot of kids that contribute. I’m excited about this group. The young ones are still growing but they’re exciting to watch. You can see they have a bright future.”

McBroom said that he’s seen his relatively young team gain valuable experience through the first 10 games of the season.

“The big thing this year is just getting kids experience,” he said. “From the get-go, we really had one guard with any experience. We’re trying to get these guards more mature and better for two weeks when we to districts. I think they have come a long ways. Our guard play has gotten better. We still have work to do but we’re gonna continue to work to get better.”

Grants was able to score much of its points at the charity stripe, canning 13-of-27 free throws. Gallup sank just 7-for-15.

From the field, both teams struggled with the Lady Bengals shooting just 36 percent, 27-of-75 while the Lady Pirates shot a poor 27 percent, 11-of-41.

Gallup is competing in the Albuquerque Metro Invitational this week. It’s a massive 16-team four-day tournament over a five-day span with games Tuesday and Wednesday with a one day off on Thursday. Play resumes on Friday and Saturday. The Lady Bengals, who finished third last year at the Metro tournament, whipped Atrisco Heritage 70-30 (3-7) Tuesday night.

Gallup played 5A Volcano Vista, which pounded Santa Fe 66-26 Wednesday night at Atrisco Heritage. If Gallup wins that game, it will play again on Friday night at 7:15 p.m. at Highland High School, a loss will have the Lady Bengals playing at 5:30 p.m. at Atrisco.

“It will be a good look for us,” McBroom said. “Like I was telling the girls in the locker room next week we’re gonna play four really tough games. We’re gonna see where we’re at going two weeks before district. It will be a good look for us. I’m excited.”

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