Sandia pulls away in second half, advances to 5A semifinals

By Lee Begaye
Special to the Times

ALBUQUERQUE – Second-seeded Sandia used a dominant second half to secure a convincing 60-43 victory over Rio Rancho in the New Mexico 5A girls basketball quarterfinal game at the Pit on Tuesday evening.

A balanced offensive attack and relentless defensive pressure helped the Matadors pull away after a competitive first half.

The Benally sisters, freshman Kaiyah and senior Sydney, led the scoring charge in double figures. Kaiyah paced the Matadors with 16 points, while Sydney contributed 10 points off the bench.

Sydney, who recently committed to Brigham Young University, didn’t start, but that didn’t deter her younger sister from stepping up as the team’s leading scorer.

Sandia jumped out to an 11-8 lead after a sluggish first quarter, with both teams struggling from the field, shooting under 25%. Kaiyah led the Matadors with seven points, while Audri Wright added three. For Rio Rancho, Daysia Jack and Madilynn Martinez each scored three points.

The second quarter saw slight offensive improvement, with Sandia edging out Rio Rancho 14-13. Wright and Kaiyah Benally each added five points, while Sydney finally made her presence felt with a 3-pointer. Sandia took a 25-21 lead into the half, as both teams improved their shooting—Sandia hit 8-of-21, while Rio Rancho connected on 7-of-22.

Coming out of the halftime break, Sandia wasted no time setting the tone. Sydney Benally opened the third quarter scoring with a smooth mid-range jumper, extending the lead to six and prompting an early Rio Rancho timeout.

The stoppage did little to slow down the Matadors, as Chloe Brown drained a 3-pointer, followed by back-to-back baskets from Audri Wright, pushing the lead to 34-21.

Rio Rancho attempted to respond, with Rilie McQuerry and Daysia Jack finding the basket, but Sandia’s defensive pressure continued to dictate the game. Hope Giddings added a layup, and Sandia capitalized on forced turnovers, with Wright adding another bucket to extend the lead to 38-25.

Rio Rancho’s Larissa Martinez managed a tough inside shot, but Sandia countered in style—Sydney knocked down a deep 3-pointer, followed by another triple from Kaiyah Benally, pushing the Matadors’ advantage to 44-27 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Matadors continued to control the pace in the final period. Wright remained a force inside, scoring early in the quarter.

Rio Rancho’s Jack made a free throw and Martinez added another basket, but Sandia refused to let up. Chloe Brown nailed a 3-pointer, followed by a Kaiyah Benally bucket, extending the lead to 51-30.

Martinez tried to spark a late Rio Rancho rally with a 3-pointer, but Giddings responded with back-to-back baskets, keeping Sandia in command. Jack hit a pair of free throws and later connected on a 3-pointer, but it was too little, too late. Wright put the final stamp on the game, drilling a deep 3-pointer with under a minute remaining, sealing Sandia’s 60-43 victory.

Following the win, Sandia head coach Lee Kettig reflected on his team’s performance.

“First of all, it was a good win,” Kettig said. “Rio Rancho has some of the best players in the state, and I’m really glad we got to play them because we needed a team to really get our blood flowing early in this tournament.”

On the decision not to start Sydney Benally, he explained, “Sydney woke up not feeling well, so we decided to utilize our depth. We have a deep rotation, and her younger sister is very talented, so our strategy was to save Sydney for key moments.”

With the win, Sandia advances to the semifinals, where they will face sixth-seeded La Cueva (22-7) on Thursday morning at 9:45 a.m. at The Pit.

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