To say that the Demonettes were off the radar is an understatement.

The Santa Fe High program has been such an afterthought since the departure of head coach Ron Drake in 2004 that it barely registered a blip.

In fact, Santa Fe High received four points in November's preseason coaches poll, which was one more than crosstown rival Capital. The Demonettes were behind Albuquerque St. Pius X, Los Alamos, Albuquerque Academy, Deming and Farmington.

Of the teams listed, only Los Alamos, St. Pius and Farmington are still getting votes. And that group is still listed among the "others receiving votes" section.

Meanwhile, Santa Fe High sits ninth after the Jan. 25 poll. It's a measure of respect the Demonettes have earned, especially after their convincing upset of three-time district champion Española Valley in the District 2AAAA opener on the road last week.

That was just another step in a surprising turnaround story. The surprise is not that the Demonettes are improving. It's been apparent over the last two seasons that Santa Fe High was moving away from its days as a welcome mat for opponents.

However, remember this team was 1-24 in 2009-10. It owned a grand total of six wins in a two-year stretch starting in 2008, and had lost 41 of 43 games that continued into the 2010-11 season.

But the glimmers of hope started to sprout. The Demonettes finished last season 12-15 and reached the Class AAAA State Tournament -- only the second time since the turn of the century that the program reached the postseason.

It was a team that had to dictate the pace because it had no size, other than 5-foot-9 freshman Jackie Martinez.

Funny what can happen in a summer.

In came Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage and Kayla Herrera. The freshmen duo constituted a significant change in philosophy -- and results.

Lozada-Cabbage is a 6-2 post, who unlike many her size and age, can run the court, block shots and can make tough shots when being double teamed. She also is strong enough to take the punishment that comes with teams trying to push her out of the block.

Herrera, a lanky 5-10 forward, isn't the stalwart in the paint, but she is tough to guard with her quickness. She also can bang inside for rebounds and can be a shutdown defender.

That was evident against Española's Lauren Quintana, who struggled to get off her shot.

Add to that the maturity of Martinez and the strong guard play of Mariah Solano, Selena Valencia and Shanice Campos, and the Demonettes were ready to do something they couldn't before -- run.

They've run to a 13-5 mark and a 2-0 start in District 2AAAA. They are running toward a home game in the state tournament.

They might be running to The Pit in March.

And that blip on the radar will just get bigger.