Weekend of basketball brings a slew of wins for area teams
The unbeaten streak ends for the Lady Panthers
In the semi-final game between the Peñasco Lady Panthers and the Pecos Lady Panthers, Peñasco overcame a 13-point deficit to beat Pecos, 68-59, and advance to the finals of the 22nd Annual Women's Northern Rio Grande (NRG) basketball tournament Jan. 6. During the championship - down by a similar margin - Peñasco fans were hopeful that their Lady Panthers could pull off the same type of comeback against district rival Mora to claim NRG glory Jan. 7.
The comeback was not to be on this night, and the Lady Panthers would fall to the Mora Rangerettes 47-24 - settling for a second place trophy at the NRG's, and losing its first game of the 2016-17 campaign thus far.
The Lady Panthers made it to the championship game after beating the Questa Lady Cats in the first round Jan. 5, and Pecos in the semi-finals Jan. 6.
The Lady Panthers are now 10-1 overall and will travel to Raton to take on the Lady Tigers Jan. 14. Tip-off is slated for 3:30 p.m.
Questa takes third
In only their third appearance at the NRG's, the Questa Wildcats came away with the third place trophy after an exciting overtime win against the Mora Rangers Jan. 7.
Down by as many as five-points with 3:50 left in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats rallied - going on a 7-2 run in the last three minutes of regulation to tie the game and force overtime.
At the end of the overtime period and down by two, Questa's Justin Madrid hit a three-point shot from the baseline to put the Wildcats up by one with 12.3 seconds left. A strong defensive stand by Questa would prevent the Rangers from attempting a shot in the waning moments, and the triumphant Wildcats came away with a 59-58 victory.
Questa ended up in the third place game after a win against Peñasco in the opening round Jan. 5, and a loss to the Dulce Hawks in the semi-final game Jan. 6.
Next up for the Wildcats (6-3) is an away game in Laguna-Acoma Jan. 12. Varsity is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Other NRG action
The Peñasco boys basketball team also traveled to the NRG tournament this past weekend, but came away winless in their slate of games. Peñasco lost to the Questa Wildcats in the first round, the Mesa Vista Trojans in the second-round (consolation semi-finals) and the McCurdy Bobcats in the seventh-place game.
The Panthers (4-7) will be in action again this week, as they take on the Foothill Falcons (Albuquerque) at home Jan. 12. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
The outcome was a similar one for the Questa Lady Cats who were unable to muster a win at the NRG's. Questa lost to the Peñasco Lady Panthers in the first round Jan. 5, and to the McCurdy Lady Bobcats in the seventh-place game Jan. 7. Due to inclement weather, the Lady Cats decided against travel in icy roads, and forfeited their second-round game against the Mesa Vista Lady Trojans Jan. 6.
The Lady Cats (2-8) go back on the road to take on the Laguna-Acoma Lady Hawks Jan. 12. Game time is 4 p.m.
Taos Tigers go 2-1 at the Mountain Madness Shootout
The Taos Tigers won two games, and lost one at the Ruidoso Mountain Madness Tournament Jan. 5-7.
Taos defeated Moriarty, 53-40 Jan. 5 - getting even with the Pintos after an eight-point loss in Moriarty Dec. 2. In the second game of the tourney, Taos lost to Laguna-Acoma, 64-53 Jan. 6.
The Tigers rebounded from the loss to defeat the host team, Ruidoso Warriors by a score of 68-59 Jan. 7. The final game of the tournament saw Taos stave off a furious comeback by Ruidoso in the fourth quarter to hang on for the victory. The two wins for the Tigers are the first road wins of the 2016-17 season and push the Tigers' overall record to 6-8.
Taos returns home to take on the Los Alamos Hilltoppers Jan. 10. Game time is 7 p.m.
The Lady Tigers (8-5) were idle over the weekend, but will travel to Los Alamos to play the Lady Hilltoppers Jan. 10. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.
