Gallup girls to meet Española Valley in 4A finals

ALBUQUERQUE

Gallup coach Todd McBroom had some legitimate concerns when junior forward Jordan Joe picked up some early fouls.

Joe played only four minutes in the opening half but the Lady Bengals found a way to stay ahead of top-seeded Portales.

“That hurt us but we were still battling,” the fourth-year coach said of his team’s 77-63 win on Thursday afternoon at Santa Rosa High School.

Due to no overnight stay, per the New Mexico Activities Association, the two teams met at a neutral site as Gallup traveled four hours to Santa Rosa while Portales made the two-hour drive from Roosevelt County to play in the Class 4A state semifinal game.

With the 14-point win, the Bengals earned the right to play in Saturday’s championship game, which is scheduled for 10 a.m. inside the Pit on the University of New Mexico campus.

The fourth-seeded Bengals will tangle with the Española Valley Lady Sundevils.

“A lot of times athletes don’t know when their last game is and I told them they get the privilege of knowing that they’re in the championship game,” McBroom said. “It’s going to be their last game of the season and if we leave it all on the floor there is no reason why we can’t win.”

The No. 2 seed Española Valley advanced by staving off a second-half rally from No. 6 seed Kirtland Central with a hard-fought 42-38 win.

The Lady Broncos trailed by as much as 18 points at the start of the third quarter but behind a barrage of threes KC got as close 31-30 with just under five minutes left to play.

The Sundevils, however, didn’t relinquish that lead as they ended any hopes of a third matchup between the District 1-4A rivals.

In other state action, the Gallup boys saw their season come to an end as they dropped a 66-56 decision to No. 2 seed Artesia on Thursday.

At Santa Rosa, the Bengals jumped out to a 17-8 cushion despite having one of their forwards saddled with fouls.

“Even with Jordan out, we still maintained the lead,” McBroom said, adding that his team’s defensive pressure got to Portales.

The Bengals did give up a 4-0 run late in the second quarter but they still led 37-29 at the break.

“We got into a little foul trouble in the second quarter and we lost that quarter by one point,” McBroom said.

The Bengals lost the third quarter by the same margin but they put away Portales in the fourth behind a 15-point effort from junior Michaela McCurtain.

“She played big for us,” McBroom said, while adding that McCurtain did a good job of guarding Highland guard Cailee Crawford, who is headed to San Diego State University next season, in the state quarterfinals on Tuesday.

“She’s been playing big for us,” he said of his pupil.

The Bengals also had two other players reach double figures with junior forward Hailey Long leading the way with 21 points and six rebounds.

Despite some early foul trouble, Joe chipped in 17 points and six rebounds.

On Saturday, the Bengals are looking to improve on its 13-1 record when they play Espanola Valley, as Gallup is playing in the championship game for the first time since 2016.

This will also be McBroom’s first shot at a state title in his tenure with the Gallup team. In his first two seasons, the Bengals reached the state semis and last year they were ousted in the quarters.

And while he’s expecting a tough challenge from Espanola Valley, McBroom said his team is playing their best basketball.

“We’re doing a lot of things better,” he said. “Offensively, we have great ball movement and everyone is pitching in. We’re just playing our best basketball and it’s a team effort. They’re playing really well together.”

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