Adam Evarts | News-Bulletin photo
Valencia’s Azalia Malizia tries to dribble around a St. Pius defender. Valencia won the game 27-25. The Valencia Lady Jaguars will play Hope Christian in the State Playoffs on Friday.
Three county prep basketball teams — Los Lunas and Belen boys, and the Valencia girls — heard their names called Saturday as the brackets for this season’s State Playoffs were selected.
Belen
On the boys side, the Belen Eagles were selected as a 7-seed in the Class 4A State Playoff bracket. The Eagles are slated to take on 10-seeded Gallup at 5 p.m., Saturday at BHS.
This game will be a rematch from a contest earlier this season in which Gallup won 73-63 in Gallup back on Dec. 7. Gallup enters the contest with a record of 16-12 overall, but did win the District 1-4A regular season and postseason championships.
The Eagles do have a size advantage in the post, but with Gallup’s guards, it will be up to Belen’s guard if they are going to win. If the Eagles do beat Gallup, they will face the winner of the game between 15-seed Hope Christian and the 2-seed Taos.
Los Lunas
The Los Lunas boys drew a 6-seed for the Class 5A State Playoffs. The Tigers will play host to the 11-seed Cleveland at 6 p.m., Saturday at LLHS.
The Storm come into the match-up with a 13-15 record, but do have wins over Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Atrisco Heritage and Rio Rancho — all playoff teams.
Cleveland has good balance from the post to the guards. The Tigers chances will rest — like they have all season — on the play of Jamian Perez and Jalin Holland. If those two have a great game, so should Los Lunas.
If the Tigers defeat Cleveland, they will take on the winner of the game between 14-seed West Mesa and 3-seed La Cueva.
Valencia
The Valencia Lady Jaguars got picked as an 8-seed for the Class 4A State Playoffs. The Lady Jaguars will host 9-seed Hope Christian at 6 p.m., Friday at VHS.
Hope Christian is 17-12 on the season and finished second in District 6-4A play this season. Hope Christian’s biggest win came over Bernalillo, which was Bernalillo’s lone loss on the season.
The Lady Huskies run their offense through Kathleen Obisike, who has averaged close to 20 points a game in district play. Valencia will need to limit her touches as much as possible.
If the Lady Jaguars win over Hope Christian, they will face the winner of 16-seed Miyamura and 1-seed Kirtland Central.
Adam Evarts is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he studied journalism and history. He has lived in Valencia County most of his life. Adam covers sports for the Valencia County News-Bulletin, including prep competitions for the three local high schools, Senior Olympics, rodeo, Little League and more.
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April 18, 2024
