Roundball Roundup: RR girls escape, Lady Spartans' streak ends, Albrecht scores 2K

Streaks broken, upsets given and losses narrowly avoided. District play is here.

Here is everything that happened on the hardwood in the world of high school hoops Jan. 16-23. 

Bernalillo girls basketball

Joe DiMaggio. Cal Ripken Jr. The Undertaker. 

All great streaks must come to an end eventually.

On Wednesday night, the Lady Spartans fell to the Hope Christian Huskies 66-60 in their district opener at Bernalillo High School.

Bernalillo’s 18-game win streak to start the season has come to a close, falling to 18-1 and 0-1 in 6-4A.

After a first-quarter lead for the Spartans, the Huskies would outscore Bernalillo 46-27 in the second and third quarters for the eventual difference maker.

Bernalillo would respond in the fourth, winning the quarter 25-15, but it would be too little, too late to try and salvage a 19th victory.

While the magical run may be over, the strides in improvement in this 2025-26 team are remarkable. Last season, Bernalillo lost three contests to Hope by 36, 22 and 14 points. 

They will have a shot for revenge on Feb. 6 when they visit the Huskies, but until then, they will wrap up January with district matchups against Del Norte and Albuquerque Academy.

Bernalillo boys basketball

It has been a tough stretch for the Spartans in January. 

Bernalillo fell to Grants and district opponent Hope Christian this past week, falling to 1-6 on the month and 3-16 this season.

They have now given up 80 points or more in three straight contests, with defensive issues becoming a common thorn in Bernalillo’s side.

In the rigorous 6-4A, the road does not get easier, as the Spartans will now turn their focus to 9-8 Del Norte and 12-5 Albuquerque Academy to close out the month.

Rio Rancho girls basketball

After back-to-back losses to halt their hot start to the season, the Rams have followed it up with four straight wins, including two district victories.

Rio’s most notable win in this stretch was a 55-54 nailbiter against Farmington at home. Madi Martinez continues to shine this season, posting a 35-point outing in this contest, while the Scorpions missed a game-tying free throw with seconds left as the Rams survived.

Outside of the Scorpion scare, Rio took the other three games by 20 points or more. This included a Thursday night runaway over Volcano Vista 64-41.

The two heavy hitters in 1-5A will meet again on Feb. 5 at Farmington, but until then, it looks like the Rams are still the team to beat in the district.

Rio Rancho boys basketball

While all eyes shifted toward another meeting between the Rams and Hawks, the Farmington Scorpions made their presence known.

In Rio’s district opener, Farmington knocked off the Rams 67-62 via overtime in northwest New Mexico.

After an 11-0 start to the season, the Rams have now dropped two of their last five, but that should be no reason to panic for this talented crew.

Friday’s third installment of Rams/Hawks is a big opportunity for a key district win. After that, Rio gets two get-right games against Cibola and Piedra Vista, who are both currently below .500.

Cleveland girls basketball

Following the trials and tribulations of their nondistrict schedule, the Storm girls find themselves on another rollercoaster.

After taking out Cibola 63-32 to get back above .500 and move to 1-0 in district play, Cleveland fell to Farmington 71-43 to move back to 9-9.

This week may be a perfect summary of how the first half of the season has gone for the Storm: Handle business against the teams you should beat, struggle against the best of the best.

But that doesn’t mean Cleveland can’t be a problem as district play rolls on.

Four different Storm players recorded double figures against the Cougars, with the electric blue crew firing on all cylinders. 

Guards Erin Winters and Danae Elzy were effective around the perimeter, while JJ Nieto and Karissa Williams handled the workload inside.

Cleveland is at their best with an all-around effort, as they will look to try and replicate that success and get back in the win column against Piedra Vista next week.

Cleveland boys basketball

It's pretty dang good to be a member of Zach Cole’s team right now.

Taking down a quality Hobbs team after a big win against La Cueva last week, the Storm entered district play hotter than the sun.

Cleveland kept the ball rolling with an 80-61 win against Cibola, starting 1-5A play at 1-0 and moving to 15-2 as the current No. 1 team in the state.

While it's all business heading into district, Tuesday’s matchup at the Thunderdome also had a moment of celebration.

Remy Albrecht, Cleveland star guard, crossed the 2,000 point mark for his high school career the week prior against La Cueva.

Albrecht was honored pregame, with Storm fans hoping for more buckets to be added to that total as the season progresses.

While it feels like everything is coming up rainbows for Cleveland, the road ahead will be a challenging one. The Storm will face top-tier teams in Farmington and Volcano Vista to close out the month, with their first bout in February coming in the form of a rivalry road game at Rio Rancho.