Los Lunas Girls Basketball Advances in NMAA State Tournament First Round

Los Lunas girls basketball knocked out Mayfield in the Class 5A first round of the NMAA state tournament, giving the Tigers a home-court win to open bracket play. The victory moved Los Lunas to 1-0 in tournament play, while Mayfield dropped to 0-1 after falling on the road.

The result was part of a broader first-round sweep among Valencia County girls programs. Down the road in Belen, Valencia High School's Jaguars were also slated to host their opener, though the opponent they faced wasn't the one originally penciled in.

Brackets had been revealed without drama the Sunday before the tournament, but two days later the New Mexico Activities Association acknowledged it had uncovered an error "in the seeding and selection process" that reshuffled five seeds in the 4A girls bracket: Shiprock (11), St. Pius (12), Grants (13), Espanola Valley (14), and Pojoaque Valley (15). The NMAA said the mistake affected 10 of the 16 teams in the field.

For Valencia, the correction swapped out Pojoaque Valley as a first-round opponent and replaced them with No. 12 St. Pius, a team carrying a 13-14 record into the postseason. The Jaguars, who won both the District 5-4A regular season and tournament titles and finished the year 21-6, entered the tournament as the fifth seed with a home game set for 7 p.m. Friday.

Coach Raymond Montoya took the late change in stride, even if it stung a little. "It's bittersweet," Montoya said. "Pius is well-coached and they will come to compete."

The stakes for Valencia are real. The Jaguars reached the 4A semifinals in last year's tournament, and the program is widely considered a contender to reach the Pit this spring.

Los Lunas and Valencia weren't the only local programs with home-court advantage in the first round. The Belen boys also earned a home game, while the Valencia boys qualified for the state tournament but had to travel for their opener.