Marissa Romero is used to having the ball in her hands in crunch time.

Wait.

That was volleyball, where Roybal set the Elkettes of Pojoaque Valley into a semifinal of the Class AAA State Tournament in November.

Turns out, clutch carries over to basketball.

Romero scored nine of her team's 24 fourth-quarter points, as the Elkettes pulled away for a crucial 56-46 victory over the Lady Dons of West Las Vegas in District 2AAA girls basketball Friday night in Gillie Lopez Gymnasium.

Pojoaque Valley outscored West Las Vegas 24-16 in the fourth quarter to remain perfect. At 8-0 in district, the Elkettes (24-0) are one win away from clinching the top seed for the district tournament and most likely the top seed for next month's state tournament.

Romero drained a 3-pointer, a pair of twos and sank two free throws in the final eight minutes.

"They understand who's the hot person at the time, who has the best mismatch," said Lanse Carter, Pojoaque Valley head coach. "I know I've said it before, but they really do know how to keep their composure."

It wasn't just words.

The Elkettes were 11-for-12 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, 20-for-23 for the game.

Romero, who finished with 12 points, wasn't the sole contributor down the stretch.

Jackie Bartleson scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter. Ellen Cruz took game-scoring honors with 18 points.

For the Lady Dons (16-8, 4-4), Vanessa Lucero scored 14 points, Linda Esquibel followed with 12 and Kristen Encinias had 10.

Pecos 60, Monte del Sol 14

The last home game of the regular season recognized a pair of Lady Panthers seniors.

And then Pecos had their way with Monte del Sol.

Both seniors — Desiree Sena and Sheryl Easley — scored 13 points each to lead the team in the District 4AA win.

"That was pretty neat," Pecos head coach Benny Gallegos said. "I told the girls to go out and have some fun, but tried to also keep them focused."

Gallegos also cleared the bench, playing all 12 players on the roster.

Yeshemabet Turner scored 10 points for Pecos, which improved to 13-10 overall,
3-1 in 4AA.

McCurdy School 39, Mesa Vista 35

The Lady Trojans have five losses this season.

Three of them are to McCurdy.

That third loss came in the District 3AA game on Mesa Vista's home court.

"They're a thorn in our sides," Mesa Vista head coach Richard Montoya said. "Hopefully we get them in the district tournament."

But for the Lady Trojans (17-5 overall, 2-2 3AA) to do that, they're going to figure out a way through McCurdy's defense.

"Their defense was pretty tough, they ran a half-court press and they were pretty much denying the entry pass to the post," Montoya said. "And we didn't have the three-point shooting."

Mesa Vista led 19-17 at half, but was outscored 14-4 in the third quarter.

Carmelita Trujillo led Mesa Vista with 12 points.

Brenda Avila had 12 for McCurdy and Alexendria Martinez added 10.

BOYS BASKETBALL

La Cueva 67, Santa Fe High 40

The Bears have nothing on the third quarter.

"That's our nemesis right now," Lenny Roybal, Santa Fe High head coach, said of the third quarter, which once spelled doom for the Demons in District 2AAAAA boys basketball, this time in Albuquerque.

"We came out flat."

Again.

The Bears led 25-24 at halftime. They outscored the Demons 17-6 in the third quarter and 25-10 in the fourth.

Wes Enns scored 15 points, Troy Ramos had 14 and Ryan Castillo finished with 11 for the Bears (17-6, 5-1 2AAAAA).

For Santa Fe High (10-15, 2-5), Mike Dean had 12 points and Brian Romero had 10.

"We have to come out with a better third quarter," Roybal said. "And we will."

Los Alamos 70, Bernalillo 48

The Hilltoppers were not about to serve the Spartans a sliver of hope in Griffith Gymnasium, the way they did the Jaguars of Capital High School.

Los Alamos opened an 18-4 advantage after one quarter and was never threatened in the District 2AAAA game.

"You need to protect your own floor," said Alan Kirk, Los Alamos head coach.

The Hilltoppers, 17-7, improved to 5-1 in 2AAAA.

Their one slip came at home against Capital on Feb. 4. But Los Alamos knocked off Española Valley in Española.

"This puts us in a good position," Kirk said. "It means the game is pretty important on Wednesday."

That's the day Española Valley visits Griffith Gymnasium.

"We're all looking forward to it," Kirk said.

The Hilltoppers were attentive from the opening tip against the Spartans.

"We played strong defense and we played with some energy," Kirk said. "We restricted them from getting some shots off and we moved the ball very well."

Alex Kirk finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and three assists for Los Alamos.

Zach Parks added 19 points and Doug Hardy followed with 11. Jack Russell had five assists to go with nine points.

For Bernalillo (14-10, 3-3), Ralph Armijo had 11 points.