Valencia Girls Win District Title as County Teams Secure Postseason Spots

Valencia High School captured the District 5-4A tournament championship Friday, defeating visiting Highland 49-34 as senior guard Jaiden Montgomery scored a team-high 19 points and reached the 1,000-career-point milestone. The victory advanced the Jaguars into the state postseason and cemented the squad’s standing for state playoff seed.

Valencia closed the regular season with a 48-26 win over BHS and had been scheduled to host either Highland or St. Pius in the district final, according to local coverage in the News-Bulletin. In separate local play earlier in the district cycle, visiting Valencia (15-12) upset St. Pius 52-42, a result recorded by the News-Bulletin as part of the Jaguars’ run toward the district title.

Across the metro-area district finals, third-ranked Rio Rancho claimed the District 1-5A girls crown with a 53-49 win at No. 2 Farmington, sophomore guard Madi Martinez pouring in 29 points. At Bulldog City, fourth-ranked Albuquerque High spotted No. 6-ranked Los Lunas an early 11-2 lead before regrouping to win the District 5-5A final 33-28; Albuquerque High has won 5-5A five seasons running.

The district weekend kept a busy schedule across Albuquerque-area gyms. Boys 2-5A final Sandia vs La Cueva was set for 3 p.m. at La Cueva, and the boys 5-5A final Bulldogs vs Atrisco Heritage was slated for 4 p.m. at Albuquerque High. Boys 1-5A top-seed Cleveland and No. 2 Volcano Vista were scheduled for a 6 p.m. matchup at Volcano Vista, while Sandia hosted La Cueva in the girls 2-5A final at 5 p.m. Other listed matchups included Highland’s boys hosting Belen at 6 p.m. Saturday in 5-4A, Albuquerque Academy girls hosting Hope Christian at 5 p.m. in 6-4A, and the boys 6-4A final Del Norte vs Hope at 6:30 p.m.; the Huskies advanced to that bracket with an 81-78 overtime semifinal win over Academy.

Local News-Bulletin game items added context across Valencia County: Belen’s girls, listed at 7-20, fell 57-44 at Highland for the Eagles’ twelfth straight setback, and a News-Bulletin photo caption noted Valencia’s Nevaeh Sers, No. 12, battling Belen’s Lydia Hull, No. 4, for a loose ball in a game won by VHS. The News-Bulletin also recorded a 52-29 home victory for Los Lunas over Rio Grande in District 5-5A play.

The New Mexico Activities Association will release the brackets for the state basketball tournaments Sunday, at which point Valencia’s playoff seed will be confirmed and the Jaguars’ path through the postseason will be set.