Lady Leopards benched in loss

Coronado High School head girls basketball coach Terry Olguin benched his starting lineup after watching his team fall behind by 13 points early in the second half of Wednesday's game against Walatowa Charter in Gallina.

The tactic almost worked as the Lady Leopards trimmed the deficit to three before fading in the waning moments of a 46-40 nondistrict loss.

"They just hit their free throws at the end," Olguin said of the visiting Lady Cougars. "Our subs got us close, though."

Anastasia Maestas led Coronado with nine points. Gabrielle Vigil added eight. Chassidy Hardy had a game-high 18 for Walatowa.

Horsemen beat Los Alamos

For a week's worth of practice as a full varsity team, the St. Michael's boys basketball team made a good first impression.

The Horsemen shut out the host Los Alamos Hilltoppers for a quarter, and it led to a 43-30 season-opening win Wednesday in Griffith Gymnasium.

St. Michael's led 10-0 after one quarter, and while the defense was good, the offense came up a little short at times.

"Offensively, we had a some shots rim our and we were a little short-armed," Horsemen head coach Ron Geyer said. "I was pleased with the defense, however, and offensively we did do some good things."

Antonio Garcia and Josh Roybal shared high-point honors for St. Michael's with 10 points each. Thomas Russell led the Hilltoppers with nine.

BYU accepts bid to New Mexico Bowl

ALBUQUERQUE — BYU has accepted an invitation to play in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 18 in Albuquerque.

Bowl officials made the announcement Wednesday. The Cougars' opponent has yet to be selected.

BYU (6-6) won five of its last seven games to tie Air Force and San Diego State for third place in the Mountain West Conference.

It'll be the Cougars' 29th bowl appearance, but their first in Albuquerque. They have won three of their last four bowl games.