KC rolls to 64-18 win over Lady Sand Devils

KIRTLAND, N.M.

The Kirtland Central girls basketball team had to find its footing.

And when they did, the Broncos (1-0) never looked back as KC handcuffed Page (1-1) in an interstate basketball game on Saturday afternoon.

KC led from start to finish, and their defensive pressure forced the Sand Devils into numerous turnovers en route to a 64-18 win.

“We try to pride ourselves with defense because our shots aren’t going to fall all the time, so we try to do something on the defensive end to get our offense going,” KC coach Devon Manning said. “You know, we want our defense to be our offense and it’s just in our DNA to play like that.”

Page coach Celeste “Boka” Claw acknowledged having a tough outing with KC, but she expressed a positive outlook playing the Broncos so early in the season.

“I love playing against Kirtland,” Claw said. “We just had to be able to suck it up and handle it mentally. Kirtland has such a dynasty, and the expectations are very high every single time we play against them.

“We always want to make sure that we’re playing our game, and Kirtland just knows how to get teams out of playing their game,” she added. “They really picked out our flaws, and that is going to help us develop throughout the season, so the more flaws they pick out for us, the better we grow together as a team.”

The Broncos jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind a pair of 3s from senior guard Haylee Nocki and sophomore guard Allyson Tsosie.

The Sand Devils trimmed that margin to 12-8 after a basket from junior post Teairra Tadytin with a minute left in the opening quarter.

That was as close as Page would get as the Broncos went on a 20-0 run with Nocki hitting three treys while junior guard Zoey Benally added five points for a 32-8 cushion with 3:38 left in the half.

At the break, KC led 38-16 with Nocki scoring 16 of her game-best 22 points while Tsosie had 11 of her 15 points.

“We bring back a lot of girls from last season, and so these girls know the expectations, and I think they’re just ready to rock and roll,” Manning said. “You know, it’s fun to watch them play. Sometimes I don’t get to enjoy watching them because I’m coaching them so much. But they’re a special group of girls.”

In the second half, Benally picked up the slack as she scored 10 of her 18 points as KC instituted the 30-point mercy as the Broncos held Page to only two points in the second half.

The Sand Devils were led by senior guard Tayla Franklin as she finished with 10 points while Tadytin added six.

Despite their dominance in their season opener, Manning warned that his team is nowhere near where they need to be at as KC has a tough schedule ahead of them.

The Broncos will have a 14-day layoff before playing at St. Pius X on Dec. 6 followed by La Cueva on Dec. 11 in the first round of the Rio Rancho Tournament at 3 p.m. KC is also scheduled to play at Albuquerque Academy on Jan. 3, followed by the APS Metro Championship on Jan. 6.

“That’s basically the same schedule we had last year, and we’re not shying away from the best teams in the state because to be the best you got to beat the best and play the best,” Manning said. “We may not win them all, but we’re really going to give it our all. We’re going to we got to challenge ourselves. We got to challenge these girls, and it’s going to be a fun season.”

Last season, Manning’s team came up short to district rival Gallup in the 4A state title game. Both teams have some key returners back and they are going to be contenders once again.

Academy has joined that mix with 6-foot-6 transfer Harper Dunn, who last played for 1A school Corona High. The junior post has gained plenty of interest from several Division I programs from across the country.

“They have something that nobody else has and that’s somebody who is 6-6,” Manning said about Academy. “I’m not worried about them right now. I’m worried about having good practices (this) week and getting ready for St. Pius.”

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