If political asylum and religious asylum and grounds are viable options for relocation, the Elkettes of Pojoaque Valley High School should seriously consider seeking basketball asylum to stay in Las Vegas, N.M.

Why Vegas?

Well, the town just happens to be the home of the Elkettes' two biggest road wins.

First, Pojoaque Valley upset top-ranked West Las Vegas on Monday, handing the Lady Dons their first loss of the District 2AAA basketball season and only their second loss of the 2009-10 season.

Then, the Elkettes followed with a come-from-behind 37-36 triumph at Las Vegas Robertson on Friday in Michael Marr Gymnasium.

"Those are two really big wins," Lanse Carter, Pojoaque Valley head coach, said. "There were a lot of chances for our girls to say this wasn't our night. But they banded together and did what they had to do to come out with a victory. They really took a step forward in mental toughness."

The Lady Cardinals took a 28-22 advantage into the final eight minutes.

The Elkettes chased for all but the final 1:30.

After Marissa Romero drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one, Cheyenne Cordova followed with a 3-pointer to give the Elkettes a 35-34 lead with 1:30 to play.

Daniella Montoya answered from the lane for the Lady Cardinals, but Cordova, a freshman, swished both ends of a one-and-one for 37-36.

Robertson had three shots at victory in the final nine seconds.

Dionna Montoya finished with 16 points for the Elkettes (14-7, 4-1 2AAA).

Karlee Bradley scored 13 points and Daniella Montoya followed with 10 for the Lady Cardinals (9-10, 2-3).

St. Michael's 53, Raton 26

The sequel will be a lot more enjoyable to watch for the Lady Horsemen.

That is, when they have time to watch it.

One night after snapping a four-game losing streak in Raton, the Lady Horsemen return to action this afternoon at Pojoaque Valley.

Tip-off is set for 2 in Ben Luján Gymnasium.

"Our girls are anxious to get on the court against Pojoaque since our Grants effort," said Martin Romero,
St. Michael's head coach.

The District 2AAA rivals met in mid-December at the Grants Invitational, with the Elkettes prevailing 34-26. It was the lowest offensive output of the season for the Lady Horsemen (10-9, 2-3 2AAA).

"We should be crisp on our execution," Romero said in the aftermath of one of their best offensive showings against the Lady Tigers.

St. Michael's defeated Raton 53-40 in the first meeting. Even in victory, Romero spotted the blemishes of their performance when the team gathered for a film session.

"We had plenty to prove," Romero said. "We had a lot of breakdowns the first time we played them."

Most were of the defensive variety.

"We made an effort tonight to stop the dribble penetration and that caused them some problems," Romero said.

Raton's high quarter was nine points in the fourth. It proceeded a three-point third quarter.

The Lady Horsemen stitched together quarters of 12, 13, 16 and 12 points.

Tamara Quintana scored 17 points to top the St. Michael's scoring ladder. Alexa Chavez followed with 12 and Jamie Velasquez finished with 10.

For Raton, Felicia Garcia scored nine points.

Española Valley 48, Capital 24

The Lady Sundevils weren't half bad.

Or were they?

"It was a sloppy, sloppy first half," Ron Drake, Española Valley head coach, said of the District 2AAAA game in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium. "We had 10 turnovers in the first quarter and I think they had eight. But we picked up the defense, started taking care of the ball and making our shots a little more."

The Lady Sundevils outscored the Lady Jaguars 28-13 in the second half. The score was 7-7 after one quarter.

Melanie Vigil scored 14 points and Nisa Duran and Desiree Howie added 11 points apiece for Española Valley (19-3, 4-0 2AAAA).

Duran also grabbed 12 rebounds.

Sarah Romero scored nine points for Capital (9-9, 2-2).

The win was the Lady Sundevils' 10th in a row.

Los Alamos 52, Taos 41

The Lady Hilltoppers needed a 20-11 fourth-quarter scoring advantage to escape an upset in Otero Gymnasium in District 2AAAA play.

"We had to fight off a very tough Taos team tonight," Tarah Logan, Los Alamos head coach, said.

It's true.

Los Alamos managed an 11-6 lead after one quarter and a 19-13 advantage at halftime. The Lady Tigers closed to 32-29 entering the fourth quarter.

Shelby Courtright scored 14 points and Taylor Ealey added 11 for the Lady Hilltoppers (14-8, 4-1 2AAAA).

Krystal Gonzales scored 10 points for Taos (7-16, 1-4).

BOYS

Santa Fe Preparatory 71, Monte del Sol 56

The Blue Griffins completed a 29-point turnaround Friday to defeat the Dragons of Monte del Sol and remain undefeated in District 4AA.

Santa Fe Prep is 2-0 in 4AA, 8-8 overall. Monte del Sol is 0-2, 5-17.

The Dragons stitched together an 8-2 scoring advantage early in the third quarter and fashioned a 14-point advantage with 5:30 left in Prep gymnasium.

"We knew Prep would make a run," Jonathan Haack, Monte del Sol head coach, said. "Prep made a run."

When the fourth quarter started, the Blue Griffins led 58-45.

"Give those kids credit," Haack said of the Blue Griffins. "They decided to play harder."

And his Dragons?

"The boys started to talk back to each other, talk back to the coach and they decided to not listen to the game plan and it hurt us," Haack said. "We committed some of the mistakes we don't want to continue to do."

Dan Van Essen had 20 points for the Blue Griffins, while teammates Christian Martin and Sebastian Stokhof de Jong followed with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

For the Dragons, Aaron Vogel scored 18 points, Dennis Mares chipped in 15 and Javier Koerdell had 13.