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Volcano Vista extends streak over Storm girls to 30
Cleveland sophomore Danae Elzy, left, takes an inadvertent basketball to the head Tuesday evening in the Thunderdome. (Herron photo)
RIO RANCHO – For a little while Tuesday evening in the Thunderdome, it looked like the Cleveland High School girls’ basketball team was on its way to ending its 29-game losing streak vs. Volcano Vista.
A 19-2 run by the No. 2 Hawks (13-5) just about put an end to any hopes the Storm (9-10), might have had; the last time the Storm beat the perennial power was back in 2011.
The Hawks beat the Storm 49-43 in both teams’ District 1-5A opener. There may have been some concern for VVHS coach Lisa Villareal, whose team trailed throughout much of the first half and was down by seven early in the second half.
Before the Hawks put it away in the third period, the Storm had a 26-19 lead, using a 7-0 run to open the second half for that lead.
Partway through their run, the Hawks’ lead was just three points, 31-28, heading into the fourth quarter. And when VVHS scored the first seven points of the fourth period, the lead was up to 10.
Cleveland went on a late run of its own, 10-0, to climb within four of the Hawks, 47-43, but that run ended with only 14.3 seconds left to go and the Hawks played keepaway until a late layup gave them the six-point win.
The Storm’s main problems were taking care of the ball, to the tune of 17 turnovers (unofficially), and being outrebounded.
Storm sophomore Jaslene Big Crow had the unenviable task of guarding Volcano Vista’s 6-footer, Taejhuan “TT” Hill, who took up a lot of room in the paint at both ends and scored a game-high 21 points, with 15 coming in the first half.
The Storm, who displayed good ball movement in the contest, were led by Big Crow’s 17 points; Savannah Madueno added 10 points, but was without a field goal in the first half.
The storm played without their usual sparkplug, junior point guard Aubrey Jaramillo, out with an injury.
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Storm warnings: The CHS junior varsity team erased a double-digit lead in the second half of its game with the Hawks, outscoring VVHS 10-8 in overtime for a win.
… Hill’s older twin brothers, Marcus and Marquise, and her older sister Jade once played for the Storm.
… The Storm’s next game is Jan. 30 when Atrisco Heritage Academy visits the Thunderdome for a 7 p.m. contest. On Feb. 1, the Storm head down the hill to play at Cibola, also at 7.
