FARMINGTON – The Farmington Scorpions ‘top-ranked girls’ basketball team took home a trophy last weekend, won a tournament in Albuquerque and has remained undefeated this season.
Meanwhile, nearly half a dozen prep basketball teams took part in tournaments across the state over the weekend.
Here’s a recap of what happened on the hard court for the San Juan County teams.
Girls basketball
Albuquerque Academy Tournament
The Farmington Scorpions girls basketball team worked its way into the championship game of the Albuquerque Academy Tournament, winning each of its first two games on Thursday and Friday.
On Saturday, the Scorpions flawlessly held their overall record with a 64-46 win over Las Cruces to claim the championship. Farmington led the game 34:17 at break and was led to victory by junior Kamalani Anitielu with 22 points.
Senior Kiiyani Anitielu was voted Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. Kiiyani scored 10 points in Saturday’s championship game and led the Scorpions with 49 points in the series of three games.
In the Scorpions’ opening game (6-0) on Thursday, Farmington defeated Organ Mountain with a 64-55 final. On Friday they reached the championship game after a raging victory over Hope Christian 73-37.
Farmington, currently at the top of Class 5A in the latest MaxPreps poll, is making a return to the regular season with a visit to Aztec on Tuesday night this week.
Al Armendariz Tournament
Girls’ basketball team Navajo Prep played for third place in the Armendariz tournament last weekend after winning Thursday’s opening game and beating West Las Vegas with a 65:18 final.
The Lady Eagles lost their second round game with a 53-26 final against Hobbs.
Navajo Prep ended the tournament with a 59:25 win over Pecos. In victory, the Lady Eagles beat the Panthers 32-8 in the second half and improved their overall record to 6-2 that season while taking third place.
The Lady Eagles return this week when they face Escalante at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday
Alice King Tournament
The Aztec Tigers girls basketball team lost their opening game of the Alice King Tournament at Moriarty High School and fell to the host team with a final of 49:24.
The Pintos beat the Aztecs 21-8 at the end of the first half in the opening game of the tournament.
On Saturday, Aztec lost to Melrose High School with a final of 44:20.
The Tigers (1-4) will be back in action against Farmington on Tuesday evening.
Boys basketball
Al Armendariz Tournament
The Kirtland Central Broncos and Aztec Tigers faced each other in a second round consolation round Friday morning at Capital High School, with the Broncos winning the game by a final 69-54.
The Broncos moved forward by defeating Aztec on Saturday afternoon in the game for fifth place against Grants, with the Pirates winning it with a 55-52 final.
Kirtland Central trailed the game by double digits at halftime but rallied and beat Grants 26-18.
“We played a terrible first half, but did our best to make a comeback in the second half,” said Broncos head coach Brian Dowdy. “Classically too little too late.”
Kirtland Central (2-6) lost their tournament opener on Thursday with a final of 67:54 against Pecos High School, while Aztec lost their tournament opener with a final of 69:35 against Espanola Valley High.
Aztec (2-8) played in the seventh-place game against Tohatchi on Saturday morning, with the Cougars winning that game 61-47.
The Broncos will be back in regular season at 7 p.m. Tuesday when they visit Navajo Prep.
Aztec returns to the hard court at 7 p.m. Thursday if they host Farmington.
Phil Griego Tournament
The Piedra Vista Panthers won the opening game of the tournament on Thursday, which was played at Cleveland High School, beating the Volcano Vista junior team with a final of 65:51.
On Friday, the Panthers competed against the hosting team and were routed by Storm 76-24.
Piedra Vista (5-3) finished the tournament game on Saturday, facing Eldorado High in the game for third place, losing to the Golden Eagles 64-39.
The Panthers will return to the field when they resume tournament activities later this month when they face Hobbs in the opening game of the Hobbs Holiday Tournament on Monday, December 27th.
Steve Bortstein can be reached by email at [email protected], on Twitter @DTSBortstein, or by calling (505) 635-2680.
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