Kirtland Central Routs Aztec 69-22 in Girls Basketball

Kirtland Central overwhelmed Aztec in a one-sided girls varsity game at Bronco Arena, cruising to a 69-22 victory that pushed the Broncos to 18-2 overall and extended their win streak to seven games. The result reinforced Kirtland Central’s status as the top-ranked team in New Mexico Division 4A.

Sophomore Allyson Tsosie led the Broncos with a game-high 20 points. Tsosie and senior Haylee Nocki combined for 18 points in the opening eight minutes, an early burst that set the tone for the night. A play-by-play excerpt from the game log was truncated in the available feed: “Play-by-play and score alerts on the game page indicate Kirtland Central jumped to an early lead (36–2 a”, the excerpt is incomplete. Kirtland nonetheless led 48-8 at halftime and 63-14 at the end of the third quarter.

Coach Devon Manning opened the second quarter by rotating in his reserves, a move that gave bench players an extended look. Senior Kaylyn Cadman responded off the Bronco bench, scoring seven of Kirtland’s 12 second-quarter points. Aztec pressured in stretches, forcing six turnovers in the first four minutes of the second quarter, and junior Khloe Schmidt and senior Jazzlyn Gomez supplied early offense for the visitors. Gomez finished as Aztec’s leading scorer with 10 points as the Tigers fell to 12-8.

Kirtland set the tone early in the second half with a 7-2 run highlighted by a four-point play from junior Zoey Benally, who finished with 11 points. Tsosie added two steals and eight points during that sequence; one account described it as having “push[ed] the Broncos’ lead to 50 points at the 4:13 mark of the third quarter.” Kirtland closed the period up 63-14. Junior Taylor Hanna closed the quarter 1-for-3 at the free-throw line and accounted for all six Bronco points in the fourth quarter as Kirtland slowed its pace late while Aztec forced five steals and drew a timeout at the 5:19 mark of the final period.

Defense and depth were decisive. Senior Krista Tsingine-Yazzie recorded three steals, and sophomore Saige Sorrelhorse drew two blocks by Aztec’s Martin, who later fouled Hanna on a 3-point attempt. Manning emphasized the value of role players and execution after the game: “I’m looking for execution on offense,” Manning said of his bench production. “We also look for it defensively, but we’re trying to look for execution in our offense.”

The game was listed for a 7 p.m. MT start and was available via the NFHS Network for live and on-demand viewing. Kirtland’s win adds to a string of convincing results this month, including a 65-22 victory over Piedra Vista on Jan. 15 and a 63-38 win at Gallup on Jan. 22, and the Broncos appear atop Division 4A as of Jan. 29.

For San Juan County fans, the rout reinforces Kirtland Central’s role as a regional standard-bearer and sets up the Broncos to carry momentum into the remainder of the district schedule and the postseason push.