Nov. 26—Here is an expert opinion:
Albuquerque High, according to Hobbs coach Joe Carpenter, a man with multiple championship rings, is possibly New Mexico's best Class 5A girls basketball team.
The actual No. 1 team will be crowned on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of March.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut the 2025-26 season is now underway, and with two-time defending champion Sandia retooling after some important graduation losses, and Hobbs, the team the Matadors beat in the final, beginning fresh with a plethora of new faces, the door to the 5A division swings open a bit wider.
Who might step through it?
It could be Albuquerque High. Rio Rancho, with its head coach back full-time on the bench, most certainly will be a factor. As will La Cueva, with arguably 5A's most dynamic and talented all-around player. Sandia does expect to be back in the mix, at some point. Hobbs, too, for certain. From the Four Corners, Farmington could emerge as a challenger over the next 3 1/2 months.
AHS opened with a 22-point win Tuesday against Volcano Vista.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis is a team with perhaps the best overall collection of guards in 5A, led by 5-foot-7 senior Lailah Bouldin (who averaged 16 points a game last season) and 5-6 freshman combo guard Abby Pavia. Savannah Combs, a 6-2 senior with a perimeter game, returns to the lineup, and the Bulldogs bring back four out of five starters.
"We have the parts," AHS coach Teri Morrison said. "Do we have the talent to be playing on the last day? Yes."
Lori Mabrey is back to coach Rio Rancho; she spent some time on the bench assisting the second half of last season as she grieved the death of her husband, Buster, who passed away at the end of 2024.
Rio Rancho was a quarterfinalist as a 10 seed last March, and the Rams have one of 5A's most impressive guards in 5-4 sophomore combo guard Madi Martinez (14.2 ppg). Her twin sister Larissa also is heavily featured in this offense, and 5-4 junior guard Daysia Jack brings a veteran presence at the point.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I think we're ready to take another step forward," said Mabrey. "We're definitely in the conversation."
Jordyn Dyer, a 5-8 senior guard for La Cueva, gives the Bears a potency at both ends of the floor, and she might be 5A's best defensive player. Dyer, who has signed with the University of Pacific, is one reason the Bears, who lost in the semifinals in March to Sandia, are most certainly going to back in the hunt.
This group, like AHS, has excellent guards and will push tempo. This position also includes 5-5 sophomore Payton Lobato and 5-8 senior shooting guard Paz Romero, both of whom will make the Bears an exceedingly tough team to defend as they deploy multiple scoring threats.
"I have a good feeling about this group," La Cueva coach Marisa Cogan said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSandia was hit hard by graduation; the Matadors opened last weekend with a 49-39 loss at Hobbs and this will be one of the curious teams to watch over the winter.
Sophomore Kaiyah Benally, Sandia's 5-7 point guard, was magnificent in the state final against the Eagles, coming off the bench to score 19 points in the final. She and senior shooting guard Chloe Brown are two of the mainstays returning from that team.
With so many points having graduated, pressure defense is even more of a priority for Sandia.
"We're not there yet," Matadors coach Lee Kettig said with a laugh. "My goal is to always get us to a point where the team looks like the team from last year."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHobbs lost six seniors and five are now on a college roster. One starter returns in 5-5 senior combo guard Matysen Zepeda, who had 20 points in the opener against Sandia. Xoey Ross, the eighth-grade daughter of one-time Hobbs great Ronald Ross, will start this season. Aliana Armitage, a 5-6 senior combo guard, is, like Zapeda, a veteran in Carpenter's program.
"We have taken a step back, just because we've lost so much," he said.
Farmington won 23 games and reached the quarters last spring, and the Scorpions return their top three scorers, led by 5-9 senior, multi-talented Kjani Anitielu.
While Rio Rancho and Farmington are the favorites in 1-5A, both Volcano Vista and Cleveland should find themselves back in the state tournament come March.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCleveland's Malia Mose, a 5-5 senior shooting guard, has signed with Western New Mexico and was the Storm's second-leading scorer and top rebounder last season.
"They're very hungry," Storm coach Stacy Pokorski said. Her squad was a 13 seed at state. "They want to get to the Pit so bad. That is their No. 1 goal."
Jalysa Hines, a 5-7 senior, averaged in double figures last season for the Hawks, who were a young team last season but still earned a 9 seed for the postseason and they could have the pieces to challenge for a first-round home game this season.
From 5-5A, the only other team to qualify for state last year was Los Lunas. The Tigers return some experience, but one of their top players, Vayda Golino, a senior combo guard and the team's floor general, suffered a terrible knee injury in a scrimmage and she may not even be back this season. With less backcourt depth, coach Manny Vigil said, Los Lunas will look to lean on its post game, led by 5-10 sophomore Kayla Finley who was among the leaders in scoring and rebounding for the Tigers.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBoth Eldorado and Atrisco Heritage in Albuquerque debut new coaches. Former Valley and Eldorado coach Rich Harbin has taken over at Atrisco, while Adam Huff, formerly a boys assistant at Eldorado to Roy Sanchez, is the new Eagles coach.
CLASS 4A: Gallup beat Kirtland Central in last season's state final, and those two, neither of whom lost much in graduation (this is slightly more true of the Broncos) are clearly the two teams at the top of the pecking order this season. Could that duo be joined by Albuquerque Academy, as it debuts 6-6 junior forward/post Harper Dunn, who transferred from Corona?
The Chargers have an extremely high-profile opener, Monday at Gallup. This team, which reached the state quarterfinals in March, was already going to be a factor in 4A even before Dunn transferred in.
Lily Skarsgard, a 6-foot sophomore point guard, and 6-0 senior forward Addie Spratley, the 6-4A player of the year last season, along with now Dunn (who adds such an imposing presence at both ends, especially with her shot blocking ability), give Academy arguably the best trio of stars on any team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"I think we're a contender to win state," Academy coach Josh Skarsgard said, "but I'd say Gallup and Kirtland are the favorites."
The Chargers will play both in the regular season, and they're going to be the favorites in 6-4A, though Hope Christian and perhaps Bernalillo are in line for good seasons.
Hope played in the quarterfinals eight months ago, and the Bishop girls — 6-1 senior post Mia and 6-foot junior wing Bri — give the Huskies size, experience, scoring and defense. Adalynn Day, a 5-8 sophomore point guard, runs the show.
Hope returns just about everyone (only one graduated) who contributed key minutes for the Huskies last season, and this was a young group.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We're hoping we make that jump to be a top-five team this year," Hope coach Michael Cole said.
Count Cole as someone who believes Bernalillo is poised to become a presence on the 4A landscape this season.
The Spartans did not qualify for the postseason last spring, but they are equipped, under coach Ashley Darnell-Duran, to join the fray in 6-4A, led by 5-11 junior post Trinity Calabaza, 5-11 junior power forward Samaria Brown and 5-4 junior point guard Star Trancosa. And this team has multiple, promising young scorers who provide depth.
Darnell-Duran's team has something personal driving them: they want to get to the Pit in March as a reward to their coach, who is battling breast cancer.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"That's all these girls talk about," Darnell-Duran said. "The girls have rallied around me. Their whole motto is, 'Coach isn't gonna beat cancer (and) us have a losing season.' This is a team that can play in the Pit."
Valencia, coming off a season in which it got all the way to the state semifinals — and led Kirtland Central for a good spell in that round — shapes up to be the early favorite in District 5-4A. The Jaguars opened with a lopsided defeat Tuesday to Gallup.
"They're kind of stacked," Highland coach Lonnie Neal said of Valencia.
Valencia has several key players returning: 5-8 senior guard Francesca Otero, 5-10 senior wing Jaiden Montgomery and 5-5 senior guard Savannah Saavedra.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Lot of length, lot of speed, lot of shooting," Valencia coach Ray Montoya said of his group.
Highland and St. Pius lead the pursuing pack in 5-4A.
The Hornets' Rebecca Neal, a 5-8 senior guard/forward, led Highland in every statistical category last season. Highland also should get a boost by the return of 5-2 senior shooting guard Makaiya Ortiz. The Hornets' backcourt is solid and, coach Lonnie Neal said, Highland has a favorable schedule in which to institute a faster tempo this season.
St. Pius, a state quarterfinalist in March, graduated seven seniors, and return three starters on what is going to be a young team, including 5-3 senior point guard Mikaela Trujillo, 5-6 junior guard Zia Valdez. Amiyah Cunningham, an eighth-grader and shooting guard — and daughter of head coach Brio Rode (who was a superior shooter in her playing days) — also is expected to contribute heavily.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We have more scoring threats than we've ever had at Pius," Rode said. "It'll cause us to have to play basketball in a different way."
NOTES: From the lower three classes, only Sandia Prep in 3A and Legacy Academy in 2A, both with 13 seeds, qualified for state from the metro area last season. The Sundevils return a productive sophomore in 5-5 guard Madlyn Dopson, who averaged 12.6 points and 2.7 assists last season, both team bests. ... Legacy Academy registered a first-round upset as a 13 seed in March. Freshman big Eden Griffis averaged a double-double last season as an eighth-grader for Legacy Academy. ... From 2A, Menaul is not going to have a program this season.
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