NMMI Sports Press
Paulina Sanchez led the Lady Colts with 13 points and played tough defense beneath the hoop, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Lady Bobcats’ speedy, experienced guards and lengthy posts as Hagerman topped NMMI 54-26 Monday night at the Godfrey Center.
Sanchez put her squad on the scoreboard first with a 3-pointer and had seven of NMMI’s nine first half points. In the second half, the senior from Sinaloa started finding her way to the basket, drawing four fouls and hitting 4-of-8 from the free-throw line.
“Paulina’s our workhorse. She does a little bit of everything for us and she’s really taking on that role of a senior leader that has to carry the load,” said first-year head coach Lawrence Hall Jr. “We’ve been working hard with her and you can see her game improving. Making more shots, finishing better around the rim, making free throws, blocking shots. She’s improved everywhere.
“We like to say, ‘We don’t want little poochies. We need big dogs out there.’ Paulina was definitely playing like a big dog tonight.”
Senior post Anastasia Ament scored seven of her nine points in the fourth quarter, giving the home crowd a thrill in the final seconds with a deep 3-pointer. Freshman guard Maria Molina chipped in with four points, all in the second half.
Despite losing a fifth straight game since opening the season with a win over Hondo Valley, the Lady Colts have shown improvement game-to-game while getting valuable playing time for some of the younger players while a couple starters are out.
“The kids are stepping up because they have to, and slowly but surely, we’re getting better at handling the basketball and handling the pressure from other teams,” Hall said. “It’s a testament to these girls showing up for practice every day and working.”
The Lady Colts get one more tune up before district play begins as they travel to Jal for 5 p.m. tipoff on Thursday. NMMI plays three-straight district road games before hosting the final three at the GAC.