Centennial girls top Las Cruces for district title

A 50-39 win over rival Las Cruces in the District 3 tournament title game Feb. 27 locked in the No. 7 seed in the Nusenda Credit Union Girls Basketball State Championships for the Centennial High girls basketball team. The Lady Hawks go into the state tournament as the No. 7 seed.

Senior Bella Walter (17 points, 8 rebounds) paced the Hawks in the district title tilt, just as she has most of the season. Senior Alanna Perrault added 11 points, while sophomores Carli Nunez (9 points) and Rizaya Cash (8 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists) continued to deliver for Centennial.

The district tournament victory avenged the Hawks’ lone district loss of the season, which came a week earlier against that same Las Cruces squad. The two teams split a pair of regular-season matchups. The important title game win puts Centennial in a good place heading into state.

“We were down, we didn't play well (in the loss to the Bulldawgs), but Las Cruces played really well that game,” said Centennial head coach Matt Abney. “They made big plays, and we just didn't have the fire that we usually do. We kind of flipped the script on Friday night in the district tournament championship. I thought we were the aggressors and it was really important to get back.”

Abney said his team entered the district tournament expecting a rivalry finale, as it would be either Las Cruces or third-place Mayfield.

“I really like how my girls responded after our first loss in 15 games,” Abney said. “There was disappointment, but a lot of people have said, and I probably agree with them, that having a loss at that point isn't that bad because it does get you refocused, and I thought it definitely did.”

Las Cruces head coach Lori Selby expects her team’s level of play in the win over Centennial the previous week to be the norm heading into the state tourney.

“That was one of the best performances of the year for us as far as putting a game plan together,” Selby said. “We did some things defensively, played a little chess with Centennial, and really had a great night as far as putting our game plan into practice, but in the district championship game, we had an off night. All teams go through it where you kind of show up and things are off and you kind of feel it from the jump. You know it's going to be a tough one, and we struggled.”

Even with the struggles, Las Cruces posted a competitive result, and Selby felt her team had chances to change it.

“We had our moments of opportunity, and we just couldn't take advantage,” Selby said. “That's kind of the ebb and flow of coaching high school, right? But, kudos to Centennial. They’ve had a great season. They had a great district run, and they earned their spot.”

She focuses on the overall competitive Lady Bulldawg run through the full campaign.

“Nobody blew us out in district,” she said. “We lost close ones, a close one to Centennial by three, and a close one to Mayfield by three, and be it for a couple of buckets going a different way, the story could have been written a little bit differently.”

Now, the two teams move on to the state tournament, which begins March 6.

As the No. 7 seed, the Hawks (20-7) host 10th-seeded Volcano Vista (16-13), the third-place team from District 1. The game is set for Friday night at 6 p.m.

The seeding is where Abney expected to land when the brackets were released.

“If we handled our business, I figured we would be a seven seed,” Abney said. “A couple of weeks ago I thought it was shaping up to be us at a seven and Volcano Vista at a 10. Obviously, we're very excited to have a home game. That was one of our goals that we talked about back in August, competing for a district championship, getting a home game, and having the opportunity to go play at the Pit. I’m really excited for the girls being able to achieve two of those three, and we'll see if we can get that third goal locked in.”

Volcano Vista comes from a tough region that includes tournament No. 2 seed Farmington and third-seeded Rio Rancho. Its season has followed a similar path to Centennial’s.

“It’s a tough matchup for us. They're really good,” Abney said. “They're very similar to us where early in the season they weren't playing as well. They have two girls that are going to play in college, two really good seniors, and they have some nice complementary players. We're going to have to play really well.”

Abney sees rebounding as a major key to his team’s success in this matchup and beyond.

“They're very physical, they're very aggressive, and they're high-volume shooters,” Abney said. “They shoot a lot of three-pointers, and they're relentless. They have three players that just crash the boards and we're going to have to play at a high level at the defensive end to get some rebounds.”

Eighth-seeded Las Cruces (20-8) hosts La Cueva (17-10) in the first round. The Bulldawgs are led by Zoey Barrio and Sofia Herrera. Selby is looking forward to the chance to play at home Friday night at 6 p.m.

“We dropped a couple of close games that we shouldn't have, so an eight is about where we were hoping to get, to host a game in the first round is huge, so we're pretty excited about it,” Selby said. “We oftentimes match up with La Cueva in the first round. Typically, we go to their place. They have one of the top players in the state in Jordan Dyer. She's just a phenomenal athlete, and we have a lot of respect for her, and she's got some great pieces around her, some great shooters.”

Selby is looking for consistency heading into the postseason.

“We’ve been up and down offensively, and when we're all on, we're pretty tough to beat, but if we struggle from the field, it can be a long night,” she said. “We’re just hoping that all our scorers show up on Friday, that ball goes in the basket, and we put ourselves in a position to win in the fourth quarter.”

Mayfield (16-11) finished third in the district and earned the No. 11 seed at state. The Trojans open state tournament play at Los Lunas (23-5).