FARMINGTON – The Gallup High School girls basketball team extended its winning streak to 14 consecutive games, topping the Farnington High squad on the road Tuesday night by a score of 64-51 in front of a packed house at Scorpion Arena.
The Bengals, currently the top-ranked team in Class 4A with a record of 14-0, are one of only three teams in the state of New Mexico still in possession of an unblemished record. Cliff High School (9-0) and Roy/Mosquero High (13-0) both in Class 1A, also share that status.
“It’s just as important for us to finish as strong as we’ve started,” said Gallup head coach Todd McBroom, as the Bengals have a pair of games remaining before the District 1-4A campaign begins next week.
Senior Rylie Whitehair and sophomore Kayden Tsosie led the Bengals offense, which was sharp all evening long, converting on more 50 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half, which saw Gallup leading 36-24 at the break.
Tsosie found seams in the Scorpions defense inside the paint, converting on a pair of short shots in the opening minutes of the contest. The Bengals size advantage also played a role on the other side of the court, where Gallup limited second chance opportunities for the Scorpions, who converted on nine of 23 shots in the opening half.
“Their size was a big factor for us on both sides, that had a lot to do with it,” said Farmington head coach Tom Adair. “We’ll learn from it and get better from it.”
Junior guards Kjani Anitielu and Caris Dale each scored in double figures for the Scorpions, who fall to 12-3 on the season. Anitielu, the team’s leading scorer dropped 14 points while Dale led the Scorpions offense with 16 points on the night.
The Scorpions made a bid midway through the third quarter, cutting the Bengals lead to six points thanks to a 3-pointer from Dale. Gallup responded on each of its next two trips down the court, again finding space inside the paint with juniors Summer Joe and Natalie Dixon each getting to the basket, extending their lead back to 10 points as the third quarter came to a close.
“It’s been a blessing to have really good post players,” McBroom said. “It’s not something a lot of teams have so I’m definitely not complaining.”
Whitehair dominated the proceedings in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of the teams 20 points to put a stamp on the Gallup win. Whitehair finished the night with 28 points to lead all scorers, while Tsosie finished with 13 points.
The victory over the Scorpions is the third win of the season for Gallup over a Class 5A team. The Bengals earned wins earlier this season over Albuquerque High and Capital. Gallup will look to continue its winning ways hosting Belen on Thursday before capping its non-district slate at home Saturday against Grants.
Farmington will be on the road to finish its non-district schedule on Friday night when they travel to Moriarty High School for a neutral-site game against Class 5A’s top-ranked Hobbs. This is the second meeting of the season between Famington and Hobbs, with the Eagles beating the Scorpions by a score of 85-16 in the championship game of the Hobbs Holiday Classic last month.
| Bengals | 20 | 16 | 8 | 20 | 64 |
| Scorpions | 13 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 51 |