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You are here: Sports Features No. 2 Bloomfield sends No. 4 Gallup packing, 60-40

No. 2 Bloomfield sends No. 4 Gallup packing, 60-40

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Alcantar, Payne, Quintana tear down Gallup

The Bloomfield Lady Bobcats exploded in the third quarter and clamped down profusely on defense and beat Gallup 60-40 Feb. 10 in a District 1-5A girls basketball game at Gallup High School.

Both teams were competitive in the opening quarter, as the Lady Bengals won the first quarter 13-12. Each team appeared to be defensive-minded in the first quarter, but one could see that it was a matter of time before Bloomfield’s Brandi Alcantar, Halle Payne and Alyssa Quintana got things together enough to stick it the Lady Bengals. Alcantar and Quintana are seniors, Payne a sophomore.

The lead in the opening quarter changed six times, with a variety of players getting points. Gallup junior forward Ashley Antone rebounded well and chipped in short jump shots in the first. But even in the opening quarter, Alcantar was getting the entire Lady Bobcats offense involved in set plays, like give and go’s to either Quintana or fellow senior Sierra Ortiz.

“I really think she’s the best point guard in the state,” Bloomfield head coach Tom Adair said. “She plays the complete floor game. And she plays well on both ends.”

The Second Quarter

Payne came alive in the second quarter. She didn’t play many minutes in the first quarter, but made her presence known in the second. Payne and senior forward Mattie Waresback scored on inside and outside shots for Bloomfield in the latter part of the first half, and appeared to allow Alcantar run the show.

Both teams maintained a consistent scoring pace, albeit against a defensive backdrop. The game was a relatively low-scoring game in the first half.

Bloomfield (20-4, 7-1) won the second quarter 14-8, and that set the tone for future quarters. Gallup (15-9, 4-4) committed four straight turnovers in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Gallup junior guard Hanna Toledo, who usually scores a lot, had her hands full with Alcantar. That left the scoring punch to guards (junior) Amanda Mitchel and (senior) Lanae Smith. Ashley and senior forward Journey Gillson were forced to rebound and score when possible, due to the fact that Gallup’s guards where neutralized by Payne and Alcantar.

“Get back, get back on defense,” Gallup head coach Todd McBroom said to his players multiple times. “Move the ball.”

Moving the ball was what Alcantar did a lot at the start of the third quarter. There were times when Bloomfield players touched the ball at least five times on offense. Antone, one of Gallup’s leading point getters on the 2018 basketball season, scored six points in the first half. Quintana scored 8 in the first half. Quintana and Alcantar brought loud cheers from the Bloomfield crowd when they blocked shots on Gallup.

Senior guard Lanae Notah opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer and that gave the Gallup team some momentum. Then Ortiz and Gillson traded shots. Gillson put Gallup up 30-28 with three minutes gone off the game clock in the third quarter. To a large degree it was Gillson’s rebounding and inside play that kept Gallup in the game in the latter part of the second and beginning part of the third quarters.

Bloomfield answered every time Gallup scored, such as the put back by Quintana after the shot by Gillson in the early part of the third. There were five lead changes in the third quarter and it was also a time when the Lady Bobcats began a streak of 19 consecutive points. The third quarter ended with a 36-36 tie.

Payne scored the first points of the fourth quarter and Payne had physical exchanges with Gallup junior guard Kamyrn Yazzie going for steals and getting rebounds. Bloomfield started to pull away in the fourth behind the play of Alcantar, Payne and Quintana.

Payne hit a 3-pointer, Alcantar a layup and the Lady Bobcats led 44-36 with 5:59 left in the game. Gallup’s defense couldn’t handle what Bloomfield threw at them.

“This was a fantastic effort as far as our defense goes,” said. “Just a great game down the stretch on defense for us.”

Adair credited the hot shooting and the guard play of Alcantar in the win. By the time the game was over, Bloomfield ended with hitting 22 straight shots.  The Lady Bobcats also hit their foul shots when they went to the free throw line. Gallup recorded 29 turnovers in the loss.

Quintana scored 17 points in the win and Payne recorded 16. Alcantar played the complete floor game and scored 12 points and was instrumental in causing Gallup — the Lady Bengals beat Bloomfield 49-48 at home on Jan. 25 — turnovers. Gallup played a box-and-1 defense on Alcantar throughout most of the second half. Gillson led Gallup with 10 points.

By Bernie Dotson
For the Sun