Demonettes fall 45-36 to Valencia in semifinal game

Dec. 4—And then there were none.

The girls' Bobby Rodriguez Capital City Tournament will wrap up with Saturday night's championship game that will not, thanks to a guard-oriented effort from a tough Valencia squad, include the tournament's host, Santa Fe High.

The Demonettes were knocked into Saturday's consolation game with a 45-36 loss to the Jaguars in Friday's late semifinal at Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium.

"I said it [Thursday], I said it again [Friday] and I'll keep saying it; Valencia's a tough team, scrappy," said Santa Fe High coach Nate Morris. "They really get after you with all those guards."

Saturday's finals will have Valencia — whose team was greeted at Toby Roybal on Thursday with a team banner in the wrong school colors — facing Class 3A powerhouse Robertson. The Cardinals rolled into the finals, as expected, with another win Friday.

Those banners surround the court on the railing that encircles the concourse. Donated by a local sponsor, the depict each school's name and mascot in the team colors. Valencia wears red and silver; the Jaguars' banner is festooned in green and yellow writing.

Mix-up aside, Valencia proved it is worthy of a date in Saturday's finals by using a 9-1 run in the final four-plus minutes of the first quarter to take a lead it would never relinquish. Santa Fe High's only point came on a technical foul free throw after officials learned a Valencia player entered the game without her name being in the pregame scorebook. Katelyn Padilla made the shot, which was part of a seven-minute span between the first and second quarters in which the Demonettes didn't convert a single shot from the field.

"We tried to change things up and be more, you know, aggressive, but they're just a good team," said Santa Fe High center Zuriel Vigil.

Vigil was the most consistent threat for the Demonettes, scoring eight points with a team-high eight rebounds. She also blocked a shot in the first quarter and deflected another.

It was her bucket in the low post with 90 seconds remaining in the first half that cut what had been an eight-point Valencia lead down to one, 17-16. That's as close as it would get as the Jaguars took command in the third quarter, opening a nine-point lead before guard Azalia Malizia opened the final period with a jumper to make it an 11-point game.

The Demonettes hit just three shots in the fourth quarter, falling victim to Valencia's swarming guard play that limited 3-point attempts, forced 17 turnovers and choked off lanes to the basket.

Malizia had a game-high 16 points as she and teammate Elena Lucero iced the game at the free throw line down the stretch. The pair were a combined 8-for-10 from the stripe in the final five minutes.

Laisha Diaz led Santa Fe High (2-1) with nine points while KiKi Benavidez and Kabreya Garcia each had five. The Demonettes had just two 3-pointers.

"I think it was all more a product of their defense than anything we were doing," Morris said. "Where we hurt ourselves were the missed layups, missed wide-open jumpers and all our free throws. You add that all up, and it's like 20 points we never got."

The Demonettes will face Highland at 11 a.m. Saturday for third place.

Other games

Robertson 62, Highland 36

The Cardinals (3-0) had this one in the bag almost as soon as it started, taking a commanding 26-14 lead at halftime and rolling into Saturday's finals with another win against a larger school.

Leading the way once again was center Jayden Jenkins. The Robertson star poured in a game-high 27 points to nearly match the Hornets' entire offensive output. She scored at least six points in each of the first three quarters, finishing her night going 4-for-4 at the line while doing most of her damage down low under the basket.

Alexis Pacheco had 15 points and Azlyn Padilla 11 as the three-headed scoring machine that is Robertson's two guards and its center controlled the game from the opening tip.

Highland (1-1) got 12 points from guard Denieca Ryan but no one else had more than six.

Robertson and Valencia will tip off at 5 p.m.

Consolation rounds

Crosstown rivals Rio Rancho and Cleveland will meet in the 2 p.m. game for fifth place. Cleveland held off Los Alamos, 33-32, on Friday while Rio Rancho edged Española Valley, 45-41.

The Hilltoppers and Sundevils will play for seventh place at 8 a.m.