NM girls 3A playoffs
Top seeds advance to quarters

WINDOW ROCK

There were no surprises in the New Mexico Class 3A girls playoffs on Friday night.

All top eight seeds advanced to the quarterfinals as the tournament shifts to the Rio Rancho Events Center on Tuesday.

In the top half of the bracket, No. 1 Navajo Prep (24-3) beat district foe Zuni (7-21) for the third time this season, winning 73-35.

Navajo Prep led 21-9 after one quarter and increased that margin to 34-13 by halftime. Behind a 27-point effort, the Lady Eagles enforced the 35-point mercy rule in the third quarter as they took a 61-29 lead into the fourth.

“Zuni came out strong and their defense was really good,” Navajo Prep coach Rainy Crisp said. “But we were able to finally get into our rhythm in the second half.”

In the first half, Crisp said Navajo Prep put Zuni at the free-throw line too often by fouling, but in the second half the Lady Eagles made adjustments. Defensively, they focused on improving, and offensively they attacked the basket.

“You know, with different officials that we’ve never had before, we had to really adjust to what they were calling,” Crisp said. “I think we did better with that in the second half.

“Offensively, we just started attacking the basket and getting layups,” she added. “We also got defensive stops, which also turned into points. All the way around, it was a great team win for us.”

Navajo Prep plays No. 8 Tohatchi at 4:45 p.m. after the Lady Cougars (18-13) took care of No. 9 East Mountain (22-6) in a 59-34 win.

“That’s going to be tough,” Crisp said of Tuesday’s matchup with Tohatchi. “I think this is our fourth time playing them and every game it was a little closer, so we just have to come out and be prepared mentally.”

Newcomb

At Newcomb High School, the seventh-seeded Lady Skyhawks (19-9) advanced to the next round with a 73-44 win over No. 10 Albuquerque Sandia Prep (15-10).

The Skyhawks led 17-12 after the opening quarter, with senior forward April Peshlakai leading the charge with six points. Newcomb extended that margin to 20-12 on a 3-pointer from junior guard Lethia Yazzie at the start of the second.

Sandia Prep, however, got as close as 22-19 following a 3-pointer from freshman Jacqui Durand with 6:02 left before halftime.

“The girls came out with a ton of energy,” Newcomb coach Nathan Brady said. “They were moving, and they were flying on defense. We created some easy opportunities, and we took a nice lead, but we had a letdown and we allowed Sandia Prep to come back and make it a ball game.”

The Brady-coached team closed the half on a 14-8 run for a 36-27 advantage at the break. In the third, Newcomb broke the game open behind Yazzie’s 15 points as the Skyhawks built a 64-34 lead.

“We put in a press two days ago and we tinkered with it, and so we put that to use tonight,” Brady said. “It’s a trapping press, and the key was the middle person taking away that reverse pass and Lethia was there time and time again.”

During that run, the Newcomb guard scored most of those points off turnovers.

“She came up with some steals and easy buckets, but that wasn’t possible without her teammates playing exceptional defense and trapping,” Brady said. “They made it hard on Sandia Prep to make that next pass.”

Yazzie led all scorers with 30 points while Peshlakai added 12.

Newcomb plays No. 2 Santa Fe Indian School on Tuesday at 8:15 p.m.

“I think we can match up really with them,” Brady said of SFIS. “You know, when we can play sound defense like we did in the third quarter, we can play with anybody at the 3A level.

“It’s a matter of getting to that level and making sure that we’re playing good sound defense, which turns into easy offense for us,” he added.

In other first-round games, No. 5 Cobre (21-8) advanced with a 66-51 win over No. 12 Ruidoso (13-12). Fourth-seeded Dexter (21-5) edged No. 13 Santa Fe St. Michael’s (15-14) 38-35.

In the bottom half of the bracket, No. 3 Robertson (22-8) beat district rival West Las Vegas (11-17) 47-25 while No. 6 Crownpoint (22-7) posted a 52-39 win over No. 11 Tularosa (16-13).

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