Valencia continues program's turnaround with Capital City Tournament title
Dec. 4—The transformation of the Valencia Lady Jaguars can be measured by the Bobby Rodriguez Capital City Tournament.
When they showed for the tournament in 2018, they finished last in the eight-team bracket and won three games that season. On Saturday, Valencia made the tournament its playground.
The Lady Jaguars watched a 21-11 halftime slip away but showed enough composure to pull out a 35-32 overtime win over Rio Rancho Cleveland to win the girls division of the Bobby Rodriguez Capital City Tournament in Toby Roybal Memorial Gymnasium.
At 6-1, Valencia is positioning itself as a force to be reckoned with, not just in District 5-4A, but in Class 4A overall.
Michaela Medina, the fifth-year head coach of the Lady Jaguars, said it took a lot of patience in turning around the program but one thing she could always count on was the mental toughness of her team.
"It's not easy to lose every single game and then come back and want to continue to play basketball," Medina said. "They've kept their faith, and I told them to give us some time. And it's finally starting to flourish."
Time wasn't necessarily on Valencia's side as the final moments of the fourth quarter unfolded. The Lady Jaguars scored four points in the third quarter and 10 in the second half as the Storm tightened up their defense and got the ball to forward Aaliyah Ayenniyi.
She scored all six of her points after the break, with four coming in the fourth quarter to help her team pull within 31-28 in the final minute of regulation. That set the stage for Savannah Madueno's 3-pointer in the final minute that tied the score at 31-all and forced overtime.
The extra period belonged to the Lady Jaguars, as sophomore Jayden Montoya and tournament MVP Azalia Malizia, a junior, each hit a pair of free throws for all of their points.
Medina said their play down the stretch underscored the health of the program.
"I didn't have a single senior on the floor at the end of the game," Medina said. "We just need to learn the little things in order to put teams away."
Third place
ALbuquerque Valley 43, Española Valley 24
The Lady Vikings (2-3) shut down the Lady Sundevils in the first half, holding them to six points in building a 24-6 lead at the break. Española improved in the second half but could not dent Valley's lead.
Grace Mestas had 12 points to lead the Lady Vikings, while Rhianna Padilla had eight to pace the Lady Sundevils (1-4).
Fifth place
Rio Rancho 40, St. Michael's 27
The Lady Horsemen heated up after three quarters, but they trailed the Lady Rams 30-14 by that point.
Ceciliana Ruiz had all six of her points in the fourth quarter, while Lauryn Pecos led St. Michael's (3-2) with eight points. But she was 1-for-6 from the free-throw in the final quarter.
Rio Rancho (4-1) had a trio of double-digit scorers, led by Julia Espinosa's 13 points. Makenna Lee and Jayme Archuleta each had 10.
Seventh place
Santa Fe High 33, Los Alamos 26
The Demonettes built a 21-10 lead at the half, and it stood up as they secured seventh place in the tournament and their first win of the season. Maci Cordova scored nine of her 13 points in the first half to lead Santa Fe High (1-2), and Isabella Lovato added seven.
Los Alamos' Abigail Martinez had 16 points to lead all scorers. The Lady Hilltoppers fell to 0-4.
