Senior Kenzie Silva doing her best to make her move in the paint against a suffocating Vixens defense.
Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain

 

A .500 record is where the Lady Steers sit heading into the new year. A 43-36 defeat against the Fort Sumner Vixens places Magdalena in the middle of the pack heading into the second half of the 2021-22 season at 5-5.

“We just hope the players show up for practice,” Vixens head coach Ben Segura said. “As a coach going up against a rival all we ask for from this group is to have the girls play hard. We try to just drill it and demand the hard work from these girls. Going up against a tough team like Magdalena we have to defend and rebound. If we don’t do those things they’ll run us out the gym.”

It was a sloppy first quarter by both teams. Other than Jordan Hisel and Brooke Layton for the Vixens, players were struggling to find the net. It was 9-2 after one. Magdalena head coach Sarah Sue Olney was yelling “We don’t quit!” to her players in the huddle.

Layton was kryptonite for the Steers as she was finding the net at will. Sophomore guard Kambree Montoya was keeping Magdalena in the game with tough rebounds on both ends of the floor. Montoya cut Fort Sumner’s lead to just three with a big midrange bucket. The Lady Vixens responded with three straight scores to end the third, never looking back in the fourth.

Coach Olney was not discouraged after the loss.

“I didn’t see too much out there today,” she said. “That is one of the top schools in the state at the single-A level we went up against. I think we showed ourselves that we can hang with the top five. We just need to clean up our personal mistakes. Too many turnovers and not enough good shots. But I love our fight and effort I see from these girls. We don’t quit.”

Next up for the Lady Steers is a home game against the Reserve Lady Mountaineers on January 6. No team in the NM Class A standings is currently above .500.

Class A Standings:

  1. Grady; 4-4.
  2. Magdalena; 5-5.
  3. Alamo Navajo; 6-6.

 

Greg Byrd | El Defensor Chieftain Sports Editor