This is just January, but it sure feels like March to the Albuquerque Hope Christian girls basketball team.

The Lady Huskies came into the Pueblo Pavilion Wellness Center determined to show they have grown up from the pups who got knocked around by the bigger dogs in Class AAA -- and especially the biggest of them all in the Lady Braves of Santa Fe Indian School.

Thanks to 26 points from Marissa Perry and stifling defense in the first half, Hope Christian made its own noise in dispatching Class AAA's top-ranked team in the Lady Braves, 49-37, in a District 5AAA game on Saturday night.

It was the first loss SFIS suffered at the hands of an AAA school since losing the District 2AAA championship to West Las Vegas in February 2010.

And it was sweet revenge for the second-ranked Lady Huskies, who can finally say they have beaten a Cindy Roybal-coached team since she returned to SFIS in 2008. And they made no secret that this game had been circled on the calendar since last March's 36-20 loss to the eventual two-time AAA champion in the state semifinals.

It was Perry, though, who seemed to embody that desire. She made mincemeat out of the full-court press by SFIS (15-5 overall, 2-1 5AAA) and dropped in 16 first-half points as Hope Christian built a 26-15 lead at the half.

She consistently blew past her defender in the backcourt, and usually didn't see another white jersey until she was in the paint on the other end of the court. Hope came in with a set play for the Lady Braves' press, but that went by the wayside after the first couple of drives by Perry.

"Once I figured out that I could go around them, then that's what we did," Perry said.

Her play set up either layups or free throws. The Lady Huskies (19-2, 3-0) hit nine of 15 free throws in the first half as SFIS was called for nine fouls. Perry shot 10 of them, hitting seven. It was a common theme throughout the night, as Hope shot 33 free throws -- with Perry going 11-for-17, much to the chagrin of Roybal.

"The officiating sucked," Roybal said. "The officiating was pathetic. They shot 33 free throws to our 11. One girl [Perry] shot 17 free throws! And we got 11 as a team."

That was also a testament to the Lady Huskies' defense, which kept the Lady Braves confounded and timid in the first half. SFIS went through a 7-minute, 45-seconds scoreless stretch, which corresponded with a 9-0 Hope run to make it 17-4 halfway through the second quarter.

It didn't help that Jennifer Willie didn't suit up for violating team rules and backup point guard Mysteri Jodie nursed an ankle injury. Still, the Lady Braves looked timid in trying to find their post players.

Roybal said outside issues that she didn't elaborate on had an effect on her team early on.

"There were some outside stuff that came on to the court unconsciously," Roybal said. "I think that hurt us, but I thought we did a valiant effort coming back."

It finally happened in the fourth quarter after Perry hit a 5-footer in the lane for a 43-27 lead at 6:52. They were the last points Hope scored for the next 4:12, and SFIS stitched together an 11-0 run led by senior forward Danielle Nelson. She scored seven of her 13 points during the run as the Lady Braves worked the ball inside.

"We knew they were a fourth-quarter team," Hope head coach Terry Heisey said. "They have had a lot of games where they were down and they've come back and won. We knew they would have a great fourth quarter and have one final push."

The pushing stopped, however, on Nelson's last basket, which proved costly as she drove in for the layup and was fouled with 3:05 left. Nelson slammed to the floor and didn't move her left leg, which she has tweaked several times during the season -- including this game.

She was led off in a wheelchair, and Ashley Terry hit the free throw for 43-37. Those were the last points scored by the Lady Braves, but the greater concern was for Nelson's health.

" 'Danny' is not a crybaby," Roybal said. "I knew she had tweaked before [in the game], and I should have known better and not put her in. But she begged me, 'Put me in, coach. Put me in.' "

That exemplified how intense one game in January was.

It wasn't March, but it sure felt like it.

Contact James Barron at 986-3045 or jbarron@sfnewmexican.com. Read his blog at thereadbarron.com.