Pressure shuts out Tigers

WLV  22  15  22  20  79
Raton   9  15  17  20  61

West High Point
Briana Hildalgo 10 0 of 2 free throws
Deana Bustos 26 2 of 2 free throws 4 3-points
Michelle Tapia 11 1 of 4 free throws
Free Throws 8 of 16 attempts

Raton High Point
Taryn Trujillo 15  2 of 2 free throws 3 3-points
Michelle Guara 17 1 of 4 free throws
Mikala Vertovec 19 6 of 7 free throws
Free Throws 10 of 19 attempts



The Lady Tigers hosted the Lady Dons for the first round of district play Monday night in Tiger Gym.

The Lady Dons controlled the game from the opening jump ball with a full court press for most of the game. The press and missed shots held Raton to only nine points in the first quarter. That deficit would prove to much to overcome and West would widen it by halftime.

Third quarter play continued pretty much as the first half with West maintaining a fairly consistent 20 point lead. Raton however finally found the basket and put the ball through the hoop more often.

West will play Robertson in the second round of district play. With 19 teams in 3A, Raton will have to wait to see if they will be invited to play in the sweet 16 of 3A.

Mariah Romero (2) goes for the lay-up while Michelle Tapia (40) runs interference for Deanna Bustos to make the block early in the game Monday night.

Taryn Trujillo goes for one of her 3 3-pointers of the game Monday night.

Maya Roybal (42) tangles with Taryn Trujillo for the ball. West played aggressive ball like this for the whole game which shut Raton down fairly well in the first quarter.

Michelle Guara (22) tries for the shot but Briana Hildago draws the foul sending Michelle to the free throw line where she made one of the two shots.

Taos Tigers pen Raton Tigers

JV Game
Taos   27  21  10  11  69
Raton  7     2    7    3  19

Taos High Point
James Roybal 12  1 of 3 free throws
Jesse Weber 13  1 of 2 free throws
Free Throws 5 of 12 attempts

Raton High Point
Mike Vigil 12
Free Throws 0 of 2 attempts

Varsity Game
Taos  14  17  22  17  71
Raton 9   10   6   31  56


Taos High Point
Estevan Garcia 11 4 of 4 free throws
Kiko Martinez 12 3 of 4 free throws
Kyle Willis 10
Shane Willis 11 3 of 4 free throws
Free Throws 15 of 26 attempts

Raton High Point
Rashaan Craig 29 9 of 10 free throws
Jay Starr 15 3 of 6 free throws
Free Throws 17 of 23 attempts

Senior Jay Starr stepped up and kept Raton in striking distance in the first quarter. Yet it wasn't enough to keep them close enough as Taos kept the pace fast and defensive.

Taos wasted no time bringing on the pressure as they will have to play Pojoaque for a tie breaker for first place in District 2AAA. Turnovers with points soon allowed Taos to widen their point spread and with a fresh bench Coach Daniel Trujillo to give his top players a break. While Rashaan Craig and Caleb Wood were back on the bench Coach Gilbert San Roman only had two player to liberally substitute with.

The game continued on and was rough and tumble at times with jeers from the fans on calls or lack of by the referees. As a result both teams garnered over 10 team fouls in the second half. By the fourth quarter Rashaan Craig woke up and with the help of the others on the team Raton out scored Taos 31 to 17 yet it was to little to late to close the 28 point gap at the end of the third.

Raton will be on the road for the first round of district play and will likely travel to Las Vegas for their first game.

Tiger Cats Dance Seniors Mariah Daniels, Sarah Earle, Helen Segura, Miranda Luksich, Autumn Hunnicutt, Lakken Medina, Devon Gutierrez

Seniors Dustin Gonzales, Mark Hightree, Jay Starr

Jeremiah Atencio chases a loose ball during the JV game Saturday night in Tiger Gym.

Jay Starr grabs the rebound during the last regular season game Saturday night.

Senior Dustin Gonzales goes for the rebound while Kyle Willis moves to get a finger on the ball.

Mark Hightree's shot goes awry as Jay Starr was set for the rebound Saturday evening in Tiger Gym.

Dustin Gonzales prepares to set for the shot before a big crowd in tiger Gym Saturday.

Mark Hightree concentrates on goal as he tries to close the deficit on the score board.

Another rebound by Jay Starr late in the game Saturday night as Taos' Chris Nalls falls short