After posting a 22-7 record and winning its Class A girls’ state basketball tournament opener 47-39 over To’hajiilee on Friday, No. 5 Magdalena’s girls (22-7) have little else to prove after completing the best turnaround in the state.

“We’ve done some things that we’d set out to do and haven’t done in a long time. We did make it to state last year, but we said at the beginning of this year that one of our goals was to host a state tournament game, and we did. The next goal was to win a tournament game and to get to Albuquerque. Even if we don’t get the blue trophy, it’s not a failure because we’ve accomplished so many of those other things that we wanted to achieve this year,” said Magdalena Coach Sara Sue Olney.

Against To’hajiilee, the Steers wasted little time jumping out front to a 21-8 first-quarter lead, thanks to Jorianne Mirabal and Jema Ganadonegro getting hot early and scoring 15 of Magdalena’s 21 first-quarter points.

Establishing an early lead was important for Magdalena after illness swept through the squad and limited some practice and conditioning. To’hajiilee used its size advantage to outscore the Steers over the next two quarters, and a 27-18 lead at the half shrank to 38-34 heading into the final period.

“We always start off the game hot, and then we get — I wouldn’t say comfortable or complacent, but we kind of let our nerves get to us a little bit, and that’s just the inexperience of being in those situations,” Olney said.

One factor in stopping To’hajiilee’s offense was limiting scoring guard Kaidyn Wilson, who scored 14 points in the first half but only four more the rest of the way.

Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain
Jorianne Mirabal looks inside as she fires a pass against To’hajiilee in the Steers state tournament opener.

“I knew that we could come out and jump on them quickly, but I also knew that they make their runs, too, because it’s who they are. I just told our girls we needed to weather the storm,” Olney said. “As for Wilson, we switched up our defense and changed from the zone they had beenpreparing for, and we went full court, man. I switched Jema and Jorianne off and on her. They took turns, and we just didn’t let her get the ball, and when she doesn’t have the ball in her hands, somebody else has to be the playmaker.”

Magdalena’s ability to switch things up in midstream shows the team’s growth. In her first season at the helm, Olney led Magdalena to a 13-15 record before she shed her volleyball duties and concentrated full-time on her basketball system.

There was also growth when it came to taking advantage of the athletic skills Olney had a hand.

“We’ve made some changes as far as we played a lot of straight man-to-man that first year. I knew we could play, man, but I knew we wouldn’t be very big. So we’ve changed the way we’ve played certain types of defenses and the way we press. We switch everything when we play our man because we’re all the same size. So, we’ve had to figure out a way to maximize our speed and play to our strengths.”

The Steers must play to their strengths and above their heads as they head deeper into the playoffs. Magdalena is the new kid on the block heading into the Final 8, and it’s the only team that didn’t have a winning record last season.

Scoring – Aliza Apache 2, Jema Ganadonegro 18, Lanisha Vicente 6, Elia Cleveland 5, Kambree Montoya, Winona Apachito, Jorianne Mirabal 16, Falene Montoya, Oliviah Clark, Jewel Mirabal.

Russell Huffman, El Defensor Chieftain Asst. Editor