Elida makes eighth consecutive state title game

BERNALILLO — Naturally, this is right where the Elida girls basketball team expected to be at this time — in the Class 1A state championship game.

The Lady Tigers' program is, after all, a seven-time defending state champ, so earning a spot in an eighth-straight title game — tipping off today in The Pit at 11:30 a.m. — by virtue of Thursday's 39-30 victory over Des Moines at Bernalillo High School was not a huge surprise.

Not that the Tigers ever take anything for granted.

"It's pretty incredible, but the cool thing is, it feels the same every year. To even get to a state championship game is the hardest thing to do," said Jaden Isler, who has now been Elida head coach for the last four title-game appearances. "With the kids, it's not the same ones doing it every time. You may have some that have been there before, but you have a completely different dynamic."

For the players who are part of this year's dynamic, it's pretty exciting, especially the seniors.

"It means everything to us," Elida's Kasyn Creighton said after tying Lacy Ferguson for a team-high 10 points. "Me and Lacy and the other two seniors (Thanya Banda and Megan Falcon), that's all we've known is going to the state championship. To make it for the eighth year in a row, that's special."

Elida (24-7) will face second-seeded Melrose for the second-straight year. The Buffaloes rallied for a 46-42 win over Quemado.

Elida did have to work for this one, after Des Moines made a second-half run. The Lady Tigers had made it a double-digit game at halftime after Creighton hit one of two free throws shortly before the second quarter ended, giving her team a 23-13 lead at the break.

It was 25-15 Elida early in the third period, but the Lady Tigers' offense was struggling mightily, giving Des Moines plenty of chances to climb back. The Lady Demons, though, weren't capitalizing initially, and Elida's arm's-length advantage held for a while.

If a team gets enough chances, however, that team will likely get closer. Though minutes apart, the Demons' got a field goal and two fouls shot from Makenna Hittson, bringing Des Moines within six — 25-19, with 15 seconds left in the third.

Could Elida's run of title-game appearances be slowly on its way to ending at seven? The Lady Tigers would hear none of that, and after Hittson's free throws, they raced down the other way and scored on an alley-oop sent from Ferguson at the left arc into Creighton underneath on the right side of the basket.

"Me and Lacy have been playing together since we were in kindergarten basketball," Creighton said. "We know what it takes to work together. ... Lacy knew what she had to do to get me open."

It helped that their freshman teammate Alyssa Bargas set a screen. Everyone filled their role.

"We knew exactly what we had to run with that play," Creighton said, "and that's what we did."

Creighton's basket off Ferguson's slick feed made it 27-19 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Elida wasn't safe quite yet. 1-for-2 free-throw-line visits from Des Moines' Natashia McDonald (6:14, fourth quarter) and Angie Lopez (5:39) brought the Lady Demons to within six again, 27-21 this time.

On the other end, Ferguson tried to draw a foul while driving for a shot, but no foul was called. The ball went out of bounds and Ferguson inbounded it to Creighton, whose jumper missed everything. Teammate Cambree Bargas was there to pick her up, though, grabbing the ball and going up with it and getting fouled in the process. With 4:48 to go, Bargas knocked down both free throws, stretching Elida's lead to 29-21.

Ferguson then intercepted a Des Moines pass and wound up driving the lane for a bucket, an impressive shot complete with a pump fake. At that point, the Lady Tigers had finally regained their double-digit edge, leading 31-21.

It was still a 10-point difference - at this point, 33-23 - near the three-minute mark, when Des Moines' Grace Hill buried a trey, slicing Elida's lead to a reasonable seven.

But just as they had on the last play of the third quarter, the Lady Tigers answered quickly, going on the fast break which ended when Alyssa Bargas dished to her left and found Creighton wide open on the left side underneath for a basket that also drew a foul. Creighton stepped to the line with 2:56 remaining and calmly finished the and-one, making it double digits yet again, 36-26.

"We knew that they were going to try to snag the pass in the lane, get the ball from us," Creighton said. "But, all we had to do was get a quick drive from one of our guards."

Des Moines did close to within 36-30, but there were only 41 seconds left. And Alyssa Bargas answered right away by drawing a foul on the other end and hitting 1-of-2 to give Elida a seven-point cushion.

Back the other way, Alyssa Bargas knocked the ball off a Des Moines player, giving possession back to Elida. It was just about over then, and soon, the Lady Tigers were due back at the Pit to compete Friday morning for consecutive title No. 8.

"I've played in that game as a player," Isler said, "and I've coached in some now. The biggest thing is, if you're not loose going into that game, you're going to be too tight. ... We try to focus before every game, but that's the game we let them go in a little loose."

With its eighth-straight title appearance, Elida is now tied for second all-time with Kirtland Central's streak from 1998 to 2005 (five wins, three losses). Kirtland Central also holds the record with 12 straight appearances from 1979 to 1990 (an eight-peat from 1980 to 1987 and four losses). Those two runs, plus another five-year streak, formed a 27-season stretch which saw the Broncos make 25 title games and win 17 titles.