Prep sports round-up

Lady Tigers defend the den

The Lady Tigers won their fourth in a row with a 50-42 win against the Mora Rangerettes at home Dec. 10. Led by Aaliyah Quintana – who scored 18 points in game – the Lady Tigers wore down the bigger Rangerettes with great passing and superb guard play.

The win gives new coach David Sanchez a 6-3 overall record to start the season – a record identical to the one the Lady Tigers had at this point last year.

Quintana, who is currently averaging just under 25 points per game, has scored 222 points in the nine games the Tigers have played so far. In the game against Mora, Elena Espinoza was the only other Taos player to hit double digits with 17 points on the evening. Espinoza helped lift the Lady Tigers with four three-pointers – one in every quarter. Quintana and Espinoza were joined by Lauralee Trujillo, who had eight, Caitlyn Tafoya, who had five, and Alexia Trujillo, who had two.

The Lady Tigers played an away game at Santa Fe Indian School after this section went to press Dec. 13. Taos hits the road and plays in back-to-back games in the northwest part of the state against Navajo Prep Dec. 16 and Tohatchi Dec. 17.

Questa takes second

The Wildcats came close to bringing home the boys’ “cowbell” with a second-place finish at the namesake tournament Dec. 6-10. Questa defeated Peñasco 71-60 in first-round play at Springer High School Dec. 7. In that game, Justin Madrid led all scorers with 20 points. His brother, T.J. Madrid, poured in 18. Questa junior Jonathan Rivera had nine points on the evening and Toby Ortega added eight.

In the semifinals, the Wildcats beat Springer 62-60 Dec. 9 to even the series with the Red Devils, who defeated Questa earlier in the season. T.J. Madrid was the top point-getter for the Wildcats with 23 points in the winning effort. Justin Madrid added 12 and Jeremy Cintas finished with 10. The semifinal round of the winner’s bracket was held in Ratón.

Hoping to fulfill a preseason goal to win the Cowbell Tourney, Coach Tomas Madrid and his Wildcats returned to Ratón for the marquee game Dec. 10. Questa would fall short, though, running into the Class A buzzsaw Maxwell Bears. The undefeated Bears would take the boys’ cowbell with a win of 88-66 over the Wildcats. T.J. Madrid would finish the game with 29 points in the losing effort and 70 points in total during the three-game span. Justin Madrid finished with 15 points and Cintas had 11.

This is Questa’s sixth-consecutive year in attendance at the Cowbell and the second time the boys have played in the championship game. Questa won the Cowbell in 2014 with wins over Maxwell, Wagon Mound and Springer. There are no individual awards – such as all-tourneys, outstandings or most valuable players – given to athletes at the Cowbell.

The Wildcats were scheduled to play Cimarrón at the “Mini-Pit” Dec. 17. However, due to an ongoing water outage in the village of Questa, the games have been postponed. As of press time, no dates have been announced for the make-up game with the Rams.

The Lady Cats won one of three games at the Cowbell, losing to Peñasco and Roy/Mosquero before winning their seventh-place game against Ratón.

The same postponement applies to the girls game scheduled Dec. 17. Updates will be provided as they become available.

Peñasco boys consolation champs

Also in attendance at the 2016-17 Cowbell Tournament was the Peñasco boys team.

The boys lost their opening-round game against Questa 71-60 at Springer High School Dec. 7. Staying in Springer for the semifinals of the consolation bracket, the Panthers defeated the Roy/Mosquero Longhorns 50-42 Dec. 8. In the consolation championship, Peñasco beat the Cimarrón Rams in a close game, 48-45.

Overall, the Panthers now have a 4-3 record. Peñasco played an away game at Tierra Encantada in Santa Fe after this section went to press Dec. 14. The next game on the schedule for the Panthers is an away game in Clayton Dec. 17. The boys will take the court against the Yellowjackets at 1 p.m. The next home game for Peñasco is slated for Dec. 21 against the visiting Dulce Hawks. The varsity boys are set to begin at 6:30 p.m.