MONTEREY USES 25-POINT THIRD QUARTER TO PULL AWAY FROM SANDIES, 63-54

The game lived up to the hype! The number one-ranked Monterey Lady Plainsmen took on the second-ranked Amarillo Sandies in a preview game that we will see again in late February as both teams should win their district and in my opinion are the best two teams in the state still.

What we noticed first before anything else was the line outside for a girls basketball game with no game to follow; just two great teams that everyone wanted to see! Now, I remember covering some girls games where there wasn't half the people in the gym but nowadays it's packed for the girls game and over half the people that stayed for the girls game are gone before the boys hit warmups! What a great display of support for our girls in the 806 and West Texas.

Now, back to the game. Monterey and Amarillo both held fast after the half to go into the stanza, tied at 24. During the first half, Aaliyah Chavez kept Monterey close with great drives and some clutch contested three-pointers. McKenzie Smith, who scored 24 points on the night, also kept the Sandies within striking range until the half.

In the third quarter, Monterey went on a 10-0 run with clutch three-pointers off of Chavez's assists which included two to Heaven Limon and one to Ambrosia Cole which ended up being a lead that the Sandies couldn't come back from. Kelly Mora made key defensive stops in the second half while Jada Graves also hit some key shots to keep the Sandies close. Monterey is now 13-2 and Amarillo is 15-2 on the year. This will be a game that we all see again in February and I hope it's a classic and intense contest like this one was!

Here are the stats from the game:

Provided by; Hub City Preps

MONTEREY 63, AMARILLO HIGH 54

Amarillo High               13   11   15   15   --   54

Monterey                       13   11   25   14   --   63

AMARILLO HIGH (54) – Jada Graves 3-12 0-0 7, Taytum Bell 4-11 1-1 9, Lacey Rice 1-4 3-4 6, Victoria Barrera 2-6 1-2 5, McKenzie Smith 7-14 6-6 24, Tatyana Gaspar 1-1 0-0 3, Payton Daniels 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-49 11-13 54.

MONTEREY (63) – Aaliyah Chavez 8-15 5-7 26, Kelly Mora 2-3 1-1 5, Heaven Limon 2-3 0-0 6, Ambrosia Cole 5-12 4-7 18, Jaelyn Morrison 2-7 2-2 6, Madison Begaye 0-1 0-0 0, Ari Johnson 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 19-41 14-19 63.

3-point goals – Amarillo High 7-22 (Smith 4-9, Gaspar 1-1, Graves 1-4, Rice 1-4, Daniels 0-1, Bell 0-3); Monterey 11-23 (Chavez 5-10, Cole 4-6, Limon 2-3, Begaye 0-1, Morrison 0-3). Rebounds – Amarillo High 28 (Bell 9, Graves 4, Smith 4); Monterey 31 (Mora 11, Morrison 7). Assists – Amarillo High 12 (Barrera 4, Graves 3); Monterey 6 (Chavez 4). Steals – Amarillo High 3 (three players with 1); Monterey 6 (Morrison 3). Turnovers – Amarillo High 9, Monterey 10. Total fouls – Amarillo High 15, Monterey 16. Records: Amarillo High 15-2, Monterey 13-2. Up next: Idalou at Amarillo High, 6 p.m. Tuesday; Monterey at Coronado, 6 p.m. Tuesday.