It was a girls basketball championship battle, but Santa Fe Indian School didn't put up much of a fight for a half.

The Lady Braves, the reigning Class AAA champions, were down 32-14 at the half to AAAA champion Kirtland Central, but they rallied to within six points before running out of gas -- and fouls -- in a
55-44 loss at Kirtland on Tuesday.

SFIS was bullied by the Lady Broncos, who were in the one-and-one free-throw shooting bonus halfway through the first quarter and in the double bonus to start the second.

Lady Braves head coach Cindy Roybal appealed to her team's championship mettle at the break.

"All I wanted from the kids was to show the heart of a champion and keep fighting," Roybal said.

Behind 11 points from Mystri Jodie, SFIS outscored Kirtland 18-11 in the third quarter to get within 43-32.

The margin was trimmed to single digits and down to six with 4 minutes left, but foul trouble got to the Lady Braves.

Danielle Nelson fouled out for the first time this season, and Bridget Lee followed her to the bench, as well.

MORA 51, PECOS 35

The Rangerettes (17-1) went on their usual first-half blitz, opening up a 33-8 lead at the break thanks to 12 Pecos turnovers in the District 2AA opener in Sen. Joseph Montoya Gymnasium.

The beneficiaries of those miscues were Andrea Romero (17 first-half points) and Chantel Rivera (10).

That performance gave Pecos coach Leroy Barela motivation for his team.

"They are what we will eventually be," Barela said. "We just got to keep working hard and stay a tight unit."

The Lady Panthers outscored Mora 15-6 in the third quarter to get within 39-23.

Romero led all scored with 21 points, and Rivera had 12. Ida Valencia led Pecos (11-6) with 12 points.

PEñASCO 49, SANTA FE PREPARATORY 35

The Blue Griffins (5-13) showed they are not a team to be trifled with in 2AA, as they led the reigning district champion 20-18 at the half and trailed 33-32 entering the fourth quarter.

That's when the tank ran dry and the Lady Panthers outscored Prep 16-3 the rest of the way in the district opener in Prep Gymnasium.

"We missed a couple of close shots that could have kept us in it and then Maddy Fort fouled out," said Anika Amon, Blue Griffins head coach. "At about the 5-minute mark, it started to slip away. But it was a battle and I was really proud of the way my team played."

Prep junior Olivia Cicci finished with 17 points to lead all scorers, while Peñasco had Marisol Peña with 16 and Melanie Gonzales added 12.

TAOS 66, MESA VISTA 64

The Lady Tigers were pushed to the limit by the Class AA Lady Trojans in Ojo Caliente, but maintained a four-point cushion until the final seconds.

Mesa Vista senior post Julia Martinez gave Taos fits as she scored 17 points in the first half to help her team to a 31-29 halftime lead.

She managed just five points in the second half, which allowed the Lady Tigers (14-5) to use their sharp-shooting and quick guards.

Brittany Gonzales had a team-high 28 points, and Marisol Martinez 18. Elizabeth Winter chipped in with 11. Ashley Alire backed Julia Martinez with 13 points, and Larissa Peña added 10.

TO'HAJIILEE 60, DESERT ACADEMY 50

The Lady Wildcats were within 43-41 of the Lady Warriors in a 2A road game, but lost the battle on the boards.

To'Hajiilee outscored Desert Academy 17-9 the rest of the way.

"They just overpowered us on the boards," said Gerald Lovato, Lady Wildcats head coach.

Estrella Flores had 36 points to lead Desert Academy (2-13, 2-2), while Winder Yazzie had 19 to pace the Lady Warriors.

ESCALANTE 48, SANTA FE WALDORF 27

In Tierra Amarilla, Abigail Martinez had 19 points and Karissa Sandoval 11 to lead the Lady Lobos (4-14) to their third win in their last four games.

Escalante led 13-8 after one quarter and 25-15 at halftime.

"We're still trying to learn the man defense and we're taking our bumps along the way," said Daniel Wendland, Waldorf head coach. "It's learning to play on the ball, off the ball, to fight through screens -- we don't have that yet."

The Lady Wolves (7-9) got a team-high 13 points and 12 boards from Lauren Gray.

NEW MEXICO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF 42, WALATOWA 27

It was a ground breaking moment for the Lady Roadrunners, who earned their first 1B win over the Lady Cougars in Jemez.

NMSD (5-7, 1-0) led by 13 points heading into the third quarter and cruised form there.

Kimberly Herrera had 17 points for the Lady Roadrunners and had five steals. Rosina Garcia grabbed 10 rebounds to go with seven points.