It's an opportunity every championship-caliber team relishes.

The Lady Braves weren't about to let it slip away.

Riding the wave of another overwhelming defensive effort, Santa Fe Indian School outlasted St. Michael's 50-39 on Thursday night in the Pueblo Pavilion Wellness Center.

The freshly minted top-ranked team in Class AAA improved to 15-4 overall, 2-0 in District 5AAA.

With No. 2 Albuquerque Hope Christian scheduled to visit Saturday, it's a chance for the Lady Braves to put the hammer down in a district that appeared to be a three-team sprint at the start of this week.

"Coach talked about that, that we have some big games coming up," said Danielle Nelson, junior power forward. "We knew this was a big week for us."

The week started Tuesday with a loss at perennial Class AAAA power Kirtland Central, a game apparently no one in the SFIS program wanted to play.

Head coach Cindy Roybal said a mid-week game four hours away -- and just 48 hours before two of her team's biggest games of the season, to date -- was a bad idea from the start.

"That was a dumb road trip -- and you can quote me on that," Roybal said. "We've got to play that, then come back and play two big district games. If that doesn't get you ready for state, nothing will."

Center Bridget Lee said several of the players were treated rudely by the Kirtland Central fans in what amounted to the most hostile environment the Lady Braves have faced in some time.

"It was pretty hard," she said. "A lot of fans there are prejudiced. They were really against a lot of us."

SFIS swept all that aside against No. 4 St. Michael's (15-5, 1-1). The Lady Horsemen jumped out to a 6-3 lead early in the first quarter but managed just one field goal and four points in the final 14 minutes of the first half.

The Lady Braves took a commanding 25-10 lead at halftime and led by double figures for all but a few moments the rest of the way.

Although St. Michael's closed within 29-21 on a long 3-pointer late in the third quarter by Monique Romero, things didn't go too well for the Lady Horsemen. They converted just 11 of 40 shots from the field and turned the ball over 16 times.

Even more telling was the SFIS defense against St. Michael's all-state center Alexa Chavez.

The senior post had a team-high 12 points and nine rebounds, but 10 of her points came from the free-throw line as the three-headed monster that is the Lady Braves' front line of Nelson, Lee and Makayla Holiday swarmed her every time she touched the ball.

Her only basket came in the fourth quarter when the issue was no longer in doubt.

Roybal cautioned her players not to reveal the trade secrets of the SFIS defense on Chavez. One player offered at least a glimpse of what the Lady Braves did.

"Well, Dani [Nelson] was on her most of the time," Lee said.

"Don't say anything," Roybal interrupted. "Let [St. Michael's] figure it out."

Ashley Terry led all scorers with 14 points for SFIS. Lee added 10 points and nine rebounds while Holiday, Jennifer Willie and birthday girl Justina Coriz each had six.

With Hope's visit looming, Roybal addressed two potentially key injuries suffered late in Thursday's game. Both Holiday and Mysteri Jodie went down with left ankle sprains.

The coach said both players should be on the floor on Saturday, adding their ailments may have had more to do with the team's challenging schedule than anything else.

"I think they're fatigue injuries, to be honest," Roybal said. "As long as they're not knee injuries, they should be fine."

Contact Will Webber at wwebber@sfnewmexican.com.