sa国际传媒官网网页入口

A metro championship game rematch, and meeting No. 4 between Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista.

Those are Thursday鈥檚 Class 5A girls state basketball semifinals, but only because in the last game of what was primarily a disappointing day of quarterfinal blowouts by the higher seeds at the Pit on Tuesday, the 10th-seeded Hawks upset No. 2 Farmington to advance.

Volcano and Rio Rancho play at 1:15 p.m. Thursday. The first semifinal Thursday, at 9:45 a.m., matches the two teams who met in the metro final two months ago, Hobbs and sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High.

The Rams and Bulldogs authored outstanding defensive performances in their quarterfinal victories, while Hobbs survived a serious threat from No. 9 La Cueva.

No. 10 VOLCANO VISTA 57, No. 2 FARMINGTON 52: The Hawks season, for most of the way, has lacked much positive traction. A late-season upset of Rio Rancho was an attention grabber, and now Volcano Vista (18-13) carries tangible underdog momentum into this next matchup with the Rams.

鈥淭he Pit is magical,鈥� said Volcano coach Lisa Villareal, who has won a handful of state titles with the school. 鈥淲e always know that at Volcano.鈥�

Jalysa Hines had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Hawks, and she was one of four players in double figures in points.

It was her 3-pointer midway through the third quarter that gave Volcano Vista the lead for good at 35-32. Mia Zuniga鈥檚 three-point play moments later upped the edge for the Hawks to 40-32.

Farmington (24-5) did get as close as two points, at 51-49, with 2:22 go to on Caris Dale鈥檚 long-range jumper 鈥� her only points of the game 鈥� but Zoey Loretto scored from in close for Volcano for a 53-49 lead.

Hines hit four free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the win for the upstart Hawks.

鈥淲e鈥檙e still in the race,鈥� Villareal said with a knowing smile, thinking back to the start of the season and the bumps along the way, when Volcano might, Villareal said, easily given up on their March dreams.

鈥淲e鈥檝e changed a lot since the beginning of the season,鈥� added Hines. 鈥淚 think we just came together better as a team, and grown together.鈥�

LaLicia Garcia added 12 points, Zuniga 11 and Loretto 10 for Volcano.

Kjani Anitielu had a team-best 21 points for the Scorpions; the Hawks鈥� defense on Dale, Villareal noted, was key, since she had been a factor in two District 1-5A victories for Farmington over Volcano Vista.

鈥淭hey did some different things we hadn鈥檛 seen,鈥� Farmington coach Tom Adair said.

No. 1 HOBBS 63, No. 9 LA CUEVA 55: The Bears (18-11) had more than a fighting chance to ship the top seed out of the tournament, and La Cueva was down just three with 2陆 minutes to go. But then Matysen Zepeda buried a huge 3-pointer from the far side, and eighth-grader Xoey Ross made consecutive shots for a 10-point lead, and Hobbs (27-2) held off the Bears in an entertaining matchup.

鈥淲e knew we could play with them,鈥� said La Cueva senior guard Jordyn Dyer, who scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in her final game with the Bears. 鈥�9 seed or not.鈥�

Hobbs led virtually the entire second half, but the Bears were tight in their rear-view mirror throughout. The Bears ultimately were undone by 22 turnovers, plus the clutch performance of Ross.

鈥淟a Cueva really gave us everything they had,鈥� Hobs coach Joe Carpenter said. 鈥淚 thought they would hit a wall, but they didn鈥檛.鈥�

The Eagles put together a 10-0 run to lead 36-27 three minutes into the third quarter, as Kacelynn Muniez, arguably 5A鈥檚 most effective 3-pointer shooter, made a pair of 3s.

But La Cueva countered with eight straight, including 3s from Siena Tesinsky and Paz Romero. Another 3 by Romero tied it 38-all late in the quarter.

Ross had the final seven of the third quarter for Hobbs, including a three-poing play, and the Eagles led 43-40 going to the final quarter.

Hobbs did not relinquish the lead in the fourth quarter, but La Cueva hung around until that last flurry sparked by the Zepeda 3.

鈥淚t was a big 3 for us,鈥� Zepeda said.

Ross had 19 points and six rebounds to lead the Eagles.

鈥淪he鈥檚 done it all year,鈥� Carpenter said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 one of the best players in the state. Age is just a number.鈥�

Muniez added 17 points and hit on half of her 10 tries from the arc. For La Cueva, Tesinsky was 7-for-11 from the field and finished with 16 points. Hobbs recorded 16 steals to just one for the Bears.

Hobbs on Jan. 10 defeated sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High 56-45 in the metro final, though the Bulldogs were at full strength that day. They since lost forward Savannah Combs to a season-ending knee injury.

No. 4 ALBUQUERQUE HIGH 38, No. 5 SANDIA 22: The Bulldogs, believed to be appearing inside the Pit for the first time in 33 years, went on a 19-2 wraparound run in the second half 鈥� fueled by the sensational 3-pointer shooting of senior guard Lailah Bouldin 鈥� and advanced to the semifinals.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fun being a Bulldog today,鈥� AHS coach Teri Morrison said.

AHS (26-3) will play Hobbs or La Cueva in Thursday鈥檚 semifinals.

Their position was somewhat precarious on Tuesday until late in the third quarter. Down 18-17, Bouldin lined up a 3-pointer and connected with 1:06 left in the quarter.

She stuck another one from the top of the key with 20.6 seconds left, and a 23-18 lead.

Into the fourth quarter, Bouldin, on an assist from Abby Pavia, hit another 3 from up top, and a commanding 30-20 lead.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a moment to shine, and today was Lailah鈥檚 moment to find the bucket,鈥� Morrison said.

Bouldin led the Bulldogs with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

鈥淚t was just a big moment,鈥� Bouldin said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 hitting at first; I wasn鈥檛 shooting very well the past couple of games.鈥�

Pavia scored twice and Bouldin added a basket in the lane, and an insurmountable 36-20 lead.

鈥淲e made them uncomfortable defensively,鈥� Morrison said. 鈥淲e gapped drives and we ran off the 3.鈥�

During that 19-2 run the Matadors (25-4) went eight minutes of game time with just a single field goal as the game got away from them. Sandia, on a day shot 20% (9-for-45), including a dismal 1-for-21 from the arc as the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High man defense dictated tempo.

鈥淔rankly,鈥� Sandia coach Lee Kettig said after his Matadors鈥� bid for a threepeat officially ended, 鈥渨e didn鈥檛 shoot that well in Round 1 (against Cleveland), either. 鈥� Credit to sa国际传媒官网网页入口 High, they played good man defense.鈥�

The Bulldogs, before Tuesday, last played in the Pit in the 1993 state final, a notorious championship game won by Eldorado, 23-5.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 come to the Pit just to come to the Pit,鈥� Pavia said. 鈥淲e came to win.鈥�

Kaiyah Benally led Sandia with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 3 RIO RANCHO 42, No. 6 LOS LUNAS 25: The Rams (26-4) never trailed and they were never once threatened as they easily handled the Tigers (24-6) in the first quarterfinal of the day.

鈥淚 am just so proud of these girls, they played their butts off,鈥� Rio Rancho coach Lori Mabrey said.

The Rams鈥� defense was the story, as they held Los Lunas to 4-for-30 shooting through the first three quarters (13.3%) and just 8-for-28 (21.1% for the game).

Rio Rancho sicced its defensive specialist, junior guard Daysia Jack, on Los Lunas鈥� top scorer, Kayla Finley, and Jack did her thing, holding Finley 鈥� who had 35 points in a win over Mayfield in the first round 鈥� to just two points at halftime, four points through three quarters and, most importantly, limited touches.

鈥淛ust staying in front of her, just being stronger than her,鈥� said Jack, who frequently draws these  tasks for the Rams.

鈥淒aysia is a two-time defensive player of the year in our district, and she takes those assignments very, very seriously,鈥� Mabrey said.

Finley finished with 13, including a bunch of meaningless points in the fourth quarter when the contest was long since decided.

鈥淪he knows how to stay in your pocket,鈥� said Rams sophomore guard Madi Martinez of Jack.

Martinez had 17 points and three assists to lead the Rams. Jack added 12 points.

Rio Rancho had a 10-point lead in the first quarter and a 26-11 bulge at halftime. They led by as many as 24 points in the second half.

The Rams recorded 14 steals and turned Los Lunas over 16 times.

Rio Rancho will play District 1-5A rival Volcano Vista in Thursday鈥檚 semifinals.