St. Michael’s Gloria Serrano chases after the ball in an attempt to keep it inbounds while being guarded by Santa Fe Indian School’s Jordyn Henry during Tuesday’s game at St. Michael’s. The Lady Horsemen won 25-23 for their first victory over the Lady Braves since 2015.
St. Michael’s Mariella Ruiz, center, holds onto the ball while Santa Fe Indian School’s Kadence Riley, right, tries to take it during Tuesday’s game at St. Michael’s.
St. Michael’s Lillian Rodriguez, right, attempts a layup and is fouled by Santa Fe Indian School’s Haley Capitan, center, during Tuesday’s game at St. Michael’s.
St. Michael’s Gloria Serrano chases after the ball in an attempt to keep it inbounds while being guarded by Santa Fe Indian School’s Jordyn Henry during Tuesday’s game at St. Michael’s. The Lady Horsemen won 25-23 for their first victory over the Lady Braves since 2015.
St. Michael’s Mariella Ruiz, center, holds onto the ball while Santa Fe Indian School’s Kadence Riley, right, tries to take it during Tuesday’s game at St. Michael’s.
St. Michael’s Lillian Rodriguez, right, attempts a layup and is fouled by Santa Fe Indian School’s Haley Capitan, center, during Tuesday’s game at St. Michael’s.
The first thing Mariella Ruiz looked for when she got the ball with 10 seconds left was the floor, and there were no feet in front of her.
Then she looked up — there were no bodies between her and the basketball rim. And just like a good coach’s daughter, she attacked.
The St. Michael’s sophomore wing’s layup with 6 seconds left lifted the Lady Horsemen to a historic 25-23 win over Santa Fe Indian School in their District 2-3A opener Tuesday night in Perez-Shelley Gymnasium. It was the first time St. Michael’s (12-6 overall, 1-0 in 2-3A) beat the Lady Braves since Feb. 17, 2015 — when Ruiz was in second grade.
So, it wasn’t a shock when she said no one expected St. Michael’s to win — except maybe everybody wearing white-and-blue.
“This not only gives us confidence, but it makes other people nervous,” said Ruiz, the daughter of second-year head coach Sony Ruiz. “I think that is amazing for us.”
Amazing might also describe how open the younger Ruiz was to make the winning basket. The Lady Braves (15-5, 1-2) were clearly focusing on St. Michael’s senior wing Lauryn Pecos, who had scored almost half of her team’s points (11) to that point. When Pecos motioned for Ruiz to slide into the paint while she moved to the top of the key, SFIS was almost reflexive in that move.
Maddie Mossman ball-faked toward Pecos, and a pair of Lady Braves stepped toward her, leaving Ruiz wide open on the right side in the low post for an uncontested shot.
Pecos said she was surprised that simple change led to a big result.
“I noticed they were focusing more on me, because I was the iso in the middle,” Pecos said. “Our girls did really well moving the ball back-and-forth and being patience. Once they shifted, [Mariella] was wide open.”
That capped a game that was short on scoring, but long on errors. At one point in the final minute, both teams combined for more turnovers (46) than points (44). Neither team could get into a consistent rhythm, as turnovers and bad shots were the norm.
St. Michael’s finished with 24 turnovers and hit just seven of 33 field goals. SFIS was not much better, committing 22 turnovers and going an equally paltry 7 for 38. In fact, the Lady Braves managed one shot in the final 3 minutes, committing three turnovers while getting a pair of free throws from Madisen Valdez with 38 seconds left that tied the score at 23.
However, that ineffective stretch of offense allowed the Lady Horsemen to rally from a 21-17 deficit. Pecos hit a shot in the lane with 2:56 left for 21-19, then Jacquelyn Gorman hit a 15-footer 38 seconds later to tie the score and drained a pair of free throws with 56.7 seconds left for a 23-21 St. Michael’s lead.
It was just enough offense to offset a 9-minute, 4-second scoreless stretch that saw a 15-11 Lady Horsemen lead dissolve into a 19-15 SFIS advantage.
St. Michael’s missed 11 straight shots and turned the ball over five times during that stretch.
The only saving grace for the Lady Horsemen was their defense, which forced the Lady Braves into 3-for-14 shooting and six turnovers to keep the game close. Coach Ruiz said the key was her team’s ball pressure, which often forces opponents to pick up their dribble sooner than they want.
“Our guards, they love to put pressure on the ball,” she said. “It’s hard to tell them not to play on the ball. We’ve talked about putting pressure on the ball, but don’t reach.”
SFIS head coach Teri Morrison said playing with poise has been a problem for her team, especially in tough losses to Navajo Prep and Las Vegas Robertson — two teams that are considered 3A contenders along with the Lady Braves.
“It’s the little things, like ball security, that are creeping in, and our free-throw percentage is a little low,” Morrison said.
When Valdez drained a 3-pointer from the left wing, the Lady Braves led 19-15. The Lady Horsemen finally scored when Mossman scored on a transition layup off a steal with 5:54 left in the game.
As momentous as the win was for St. Michael’s, it also opens a new reality — perhaps one for which the program is not yet ready. It sets up a showdown at home Friday with the Lady Cardinals, the reigning 3A champions, for the district lead and an opportunity for the Lady Horsemen add one more name to the favorites list in the class.
Coach Ruiz said she wasn’t quite ready to tackle the prospect of St. Michael’s being 3A contenders. She as thinking more about this confidence-boosting win for the program that was a long time coming.
“This is a big win for our confidence,” Sonya Ruiz said. “You can say you have confidence and say you’re ready for it, but you have to step on the court and do it. So this was huge, and they believed in themselves.”
