The Questa Ladycats basketball team has had a great start to their 2024-25 season with a 6-0 record. After reaching the first round of the 2A State Playoffs and finishing with a 19-11 record last season, the Ladycats have continued to build on that foundation in the early part of this season.
After a dominant 49-16 win in the season opener November 30, playing the Raton Lady Tigers in Questa, the girls team had an equally dominant performance over the Clayton Lady Yellowjackets, winning 54-16 on December 2, on the road. The Ladycats then improved to 2-0 at home after a win over the Dulce Lady Hawks on December 3. This was another good game offensively for the Ladycats, who led by 21 points midway through the fourth quarter, before winning 49-34.
Their next win came against the Santa Fe Prep Lady Blue Griffins on December 12, at home in Questa. The Ladycats scored the first 31 points of the game, before allowing Santa Fe Prep’s first basket; an outstanding team defensive effort. After leading 39-2 at the half, the Ladycats continued to pour it on offensively in the second half.
Twelve different players scored a basket in the game, and three players scored in double figures. Questa was led by junior shooting guard Alyse Lovato with 14 points. Sophomore forward Madison Schave had 12 points on the night, and senior small forward Alianna Gonzales added 10 points for the Ladycats. Senior leader Kamryn Cardenas added 9 points, which included Questa’s only 3-point field goal of the night, as well as distributing the ball. The Ladycats finished with a 69-6 win.
In their next game, against the Coronado Lady Leopards on December 16, the Ladycats picked up where they left off, with another big win, 69-5. There was outstanding consistency on the offensive end for the Ladycats this season.
The Ladycats next played the St. Michael’s Lady Horsemen in Santa Fe on Thursday, December 19, as part of the St. Michael’s 2024 Lady Horsemen Christmas Tournament, on the road. This was the toughest opponent the Ladycats had faced so far this season. Questa shot well to start the game, hitting three 3-point shots in the first quarter, and holding a 13-8 lead. The second quarter was very physical. Senior power forward Aliyah Santistevan made several nice drives to the basket with an underhanded finish for points. St. Michael’s was able to tie the game before the half, 17-17.
The Lady Horsemen took an early lead in the third quarter, before a three pointer from senior point guard Kamryn Cardenas gave Questa the lead again. Junior shooting guard Alyse Lovato then made two straight tough baskets in the low post to extend Questa’s lead. The Ladycats led 26-23 at the end of the third quarter.
Questa continued playing good team defense into the fourth quarter, forcing several turnovers that resulted in points, including several more baskets for Lovato. The Ladycats extended the lead to 9 points after an outstanding half-court length inbounds pass from Santistevan to Lovato for points on a break. Questa was up by 11 points before St. Michael’s scored a few late baskets. Questa closed it out with a win of 36-29, to improve to 6-0 for the season.
An outstanding start to the season for Coach Steve Rael and the Ladycats!
After the first six games of the season, the Ladycats were averaging 54.3 points per game. They will need this kind of offensive output going forward, as they play in one of the toughest districts in New Mexico, the Girls 2A basketball, which includes last season’s defending 2A State Champions, the Penasco Lady Panthers, as well as the Mesa Vista Lady Trojans and the Mora Lady Rangers; three good teams in their own right.
Ladycats Coach Steve Rael is pleased with his team in the early part of this season. “We’re a veteran team, having only graduated three players in the last two years. They’ve really bought into the system. They’re very eager to play, and are coming around, playing team ball with good team chemistry which is nice to see when you have numbers and a solid bench. We want to run. Defense should create offense. We just try to get one percent better each practice and each game,” Coach Rael said.
The Ladycats finished their weekend in Santa Fe at the St. Michael’s tourney before a holiday break, with the 2025 Northern Rio Grande Tournament in Espanola set for January 2-4 to look forward to.
