Girls prep basketball: Volcano Vista returns to 5A final; Roy/Mosquero wins 1A

May 6—CLASS 5A

At Volcano Vista, the No. 2-seeded Hawks advanced to their second straight 5A girls' basketball finals topping No. 3 Eldorado, 56-44, on Thursday night.

Jaelyn Bates hit six 3s and scored a game-high 24 points for Volcano Vista, which jumped out to a 25-6 first-quarter lead over the Golden Eagles (7-3).

Volcano Vista (12-0) will clash with Hobbs on Saturday at the Pit in a rematch of last year's state final. — Patrick Newell

CLASS 1A GIRLS

No. 1 ROY/MOSQUERO 44, No. 3 MELROSE 38: For a brief moment to start the third quarter, the basket at the Pit stopped looking like a pinhole to Melrose, and in quick succession, the Buffaloes dropped in four 3-pointers.

It was part of an 18-3 run dating back to the end of the first half and propelled No. 3 Melrose to a 26-22 lead over top-seeded Roy/Mosquero.

And just that quickly, the basket shrunk again, and the Blue began to hit from the line, going 16-of-22 on foul shots over the final 10 minutes to earn the Class 1A girls state championship.

It's the first championship for either Roy or Mosquero since Roy won in 1998. The schools these days use a combined roster because neither has enough players to field a team of its own

"That was my Aunt Jenny's team," Riley Clavel, said of her aunt and assistant coach Jenny (Garcia) Hazen. "It brings a little nostalgia. And she is one of our assistants this year so it was really special for me. My mom has some (state championships), too. That's all I wanted, ever. With her being an assistant, my dad as head coach, this being my senior year, I can't describe it."

Although neither team was shooting particularly well through the first half, Blue (15-0) held a comfortable 19-11 lead at halftime.

But Isabel Sena hit two 3-pointers, Johanna Roybal hit one, and Graci Odom sank one with two minutes left in the third quarter to put the Buffaloes (12-2) up 26-22.

Finding success at the foul line, Roy/Mosquero came back to tie it at 33-all midway through the fourth quarter on a Tanna Crisp put back. She finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

Blue expanded its lead, working from the foul line, hitting 10 straight in a 10-2 run that sealed the game.

"Free throws win games," said Clavel, who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals. "We made them down the stretch when it mattered, and that was a big difference in the game."

Although Roy/Mosquero did its best to take out opposing star Hailey Martin, she still finished with 16 and 13 rebounds, including seven points and four boards in the fourth quarter.

"It was my last game and I have to put all I can into it," Martin said.

It wasn't enough as Melrose, which won it last year and reached the championship game the previous three seasons, simply could not make shots, finishing 6-27 on 3-pointers and 7-33 inside the arc.

"We just couldn't make shots," said Buffaloes coach Caleb King. "We haven't shot that bad all year."

No. 1 ROY/MOSQUERO 44 No. 3 MOSQUERO 38

Melrose 6 5 17 10 — 38

Roy/Mosquero 8 11 7 18 — 44

MELROSE (12-2): Hailey Martin 5-15 6-10 16; Johanna Roybal 2-11 0-0 6; Graci Odom 3-14 0-0 8; Isabelle Sena 2-10 0-0 6; Anjalina Sanchez1-9 0-0 2.; Kye Ward 0-1 0-0 0; Rylee Roberts 0-0 0-0 0; Sorrel Allen 0-0 0-0 0; Paityn Nicholson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 13-60 6-10

ROY/MOSQUERO (15-0): Arantza Covarubius 1-7 4-5 6; Tanna Crisp 3-6 8-16 14; Riley Clavel 5-17 6-8 19; Sydney Turner 1-4 0-1 3; Natalie Smith 1-4 0-0 2; Nora Crisp 0-0 0-0 0 Josie Esquibel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-38 18-30 44.

3-point FGs: M 6-27 (Roybal 2-9, Odom 2-4, Sena 2-7, Sanchez 0-3, Martin 0-4); R/M 4-9 (Clavel 3-7, Turner 1-2). Rebounds: M 42 (Martin 13); R/M 35 (T. Crisp 14). Assists: M 11 (Sanchez 5); R/M 6 (Clavel 2). Steals: M 2 (Sanchez, Nicholson); R/M 8 (Clavel 4). Turnovers: M 13; R/M 11. Total fouls: M 19; R/M 10. Fouled out: none.

See updated brackets below, and check back here later Thursday and in Friday's Journal print edition for coverage of later games.

Class 5A GIRLS (with bracket)

Class 4A GIRLS (with bracket)

Class 3A GIRLS (with bracket)

Class 2A GIRLS (with bracket)

Class 1A GIRLS (with bracket)