‘We battled’: Lady Scorps keep district championship hopes alive

FARMINGTON

As far as statement wins, this one was a big one for the Farmington girls’ basketball team.

On Tuesday night, the second-ranked Lady Scorpions kept its district championship aspirations alive by evening the series with No. 4 La Cueva, winning 61-56.

Farmington did it without the service of senior guard Kiiyani Anitielu, who sat out for disciplinary reasons.

“Oh man, I’m lost for words right now, but I’m so proud of how they executed things and the way they kept their minds in the game,” fourth-year Farmington coach Larenson Henderson said. “They continued to push forward.

“I mean, we were playing without Kiiyani, and they all stepped up,” he said. “Hopefully, this gives them the belief that they can play basketball against the best teams.”

The five-point win improved the Scorps overall record to 24-1 and 8-1 in District 2-5A play. Farmington will close out the regular season at Piedra Vista today.

La Cueva, meanwhile, dropped to 18-5 and 8-1 in league play, and the Lady Bears will conclude the season with Eldorado on Saturday.

If both teams win their final game, a third meeting will take place at a neutral site next week as both clubs won on its home-to-home series.

The Bears defeated Farmington 51-49 on Jan. 29, and the Scorps exacted revenge with its five-point win.

“We got a big one against PV on Thursday, so we’re not done,” Henderson said. “Right now, this is fun basketball. I loved the atmosphere tonight. I missed the roars and boos, and oh my gosh, this was so fun.

“We battled, and they battled,” he added. “We were all on the floor, and we were scrapping, and it was awesome basketball tonight.”

The Scorps pulled this one off even though they were missing the district’s third-leading scorer, with Kiiyani Anitielu averaging 20.3 points per game.

“We all knew she wasn’t going to play,” Kamalani Anitielu, Kiiyani’s younger sister, said. “She’s a big piece of this team, and we were all nervous at first, but we knew we had to come out and play hard.

“This is just amazing,” she said. “We just took it upon ourselves to come out and play together.”

Henderson said everyone that played chipped in.

“I’m so proud of them,” the Farmington coach said. “Defensively, they were taking charges, hitting their threes, hitting their free throws, and they made plays on the floor.”

Behind five points from Kamalani, the Scorps gained a slight 12-10 edge after one-quarter of play.

Kamalani added a pair of treys in the next stanza while teammate Audrey Henderson added five points as Farmington took a 25-22 at the break.

In the third, things took a turn as La Cueva overtook the Scorps by putting in 21 while holding the home team to a dozen points.

That big quarter earned the Bears a 43-37 advantage in the fourth.

The Scorps erased that deficit thanks to an 8-2 run as they tied the game at 45-all following two free throws from Kamalani with 5:01 left.

A minute later, Henderson’s 3 gave Farmington a slight edge, but the Bears came roaring as they used a 5-1 run to take a 50-49 cushion on a trey by senior Teona Savic with 3:24 to go.

On its next possession, the Scorps took the lead for good on a pair of free throws from sophomore Kapiolani Anitielu.

Farmington made 10-of-11 free throws in the final three minutes to seal the win.

As a team, it was clutch, making 16-of-19 from the charity line, including 14 in the fourth stanza.

“There was some pressure, but it was great to hear the crowd,” Kamalani said. “They were very supportive, and it made us want to make our free throws.”

Kapiolani led the Scorps as she finished with 19 points, 11 of them coming in the fourth.

Kamalani added 18 points, which included four treys. Henderson also hit four 3s, and she chipped in 14.

Coach Henderson said it was a team win, and everything they worked on, they put it in Tuesday’s win.

“I’m so proud of them,” he said. “They kept battling, and they kept the energy going. This is what it takes to be a champion, and, you know, they found that backup battery inside of them.”

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