ALAMOSA – The eighth-ranked Alamosa High School girls basketball team will make a trip back to the Class 4A Great 8 as it defeated Wellington, 40-24, and Berthoud, 47-39, in a regional at the AHS gym this past weekend.

“We came out the first half against Berthoud and I think it’s a big game and our girls are always present in big games,” said Alamosa coach James Romero. “We have a strong group. Give credit to Berthoud. They came out, they were aggressive, and they have some good players, so we really knew it was going to be a tough match-up. First half was that and we went into locker room, regathered and we just calmed down, and came out and played basketball.”

Alamosa 40, Wellintton 24

Ashlyn Rice put the Mean Moose of the board first by making one of two from the free throw line. Aubrey Rothermich then hit a jumper for a 3-0 lead.

Taylor Morgan accounted for the Eagles’ first point with a free throw. Ava Essay then made a layup, and London Morgan drained a 3-point basket for a 603 Wellington lead.

It would be Wellington’s only lead and it wouldn’t last long. Arreli Felix made a layup, and Audrina Knorr also scored in the paint for a 7-6 Alamosa lead. Felix would then make three out of four free throws for a 10-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.

London Morgan split at the line to open the second quarter, but Jaelin Garcia and Leela Gutierrez both scored to increase the lead to 14-7.

Emyra Lopez hit a jumper, but Garcia made a pair from the line. Knorr then buried a three to give the Mean Moose a 19-9 advantage.

Essay made a 3-pointer, and Taylor Morgan split at the line. Ashlyn Rice made a trey just before time expired to give Alamosa a 22-13 lead at halftime.

Taylor Morgan began the second with a layup, but Gutierrez knocked down a jumper. Brooklyn Jones made a 3-pointer, but Rothermich and Garcia both scored for a 28-18 lead.

Knorr split at the lime, and Garcia scored in the paint. Felix also made one of two free throws=, and the Mean Moose led 32-18 after the third quarter.

Brooklyn Schrader started the fourth quarter with a jumper, but Taylor Morgan made a three, Schrader scored again, and Knorr made two free throws, Garcia drive for a layup to give the Mean Moose their largest lead at 40-21.

Jones scored the Eagles’ final points of the game.

Garcia led Alamosa in scoring with 10 points, followed by Knorr with eight.

Jones was Wellington’s leading scorer with six points.

Alamosa 47, Berthoud 39

Kiere Harris put the Spartans on the board first by splitting at the line. Garcia put the Mean Moose into the lead with a layup, but Avery Pfohl made two free throws.

Rothermich also made a pair of free tosses, but Pfohl drained a three to put Berthoud into the lead. Sofia Sigg made four straight free throws for a 10-6 Berthoud lead at the end of the first quarter.

Sigg opened the second quarter with two consecutive layups. Garcia made a layup, but Pfohl made a layup and added a free throw for a 17-8 Spartans lead.

Gutierrez and Knorr both made layups, but Pfohl buried another three. Knorr split at the line, and Rothermich and Garcia both made layups.

Sigg made two free throws in the final seconds to give the Spartans a 22-17 lead at halftime.

Harris made a layup to begin the second half, but Alamosa then went on a 13-0 run to regain the lead. Garcia and Rothermich both scored to start the rally, and Garcia scored. Rice made one of two from the charity stripe to tie the score at 24-24, Garcia made a layup, and Felix made two free throws to put the Mean Moose into the lead at 28-24. Rice made two more free throws for a 30-24 advantage.

Sydney Riffell split at the line for the Spartans, but Garcia knocked down a jumper. Pfohl made a 3-pointer, but Felix scored just before time expired for a 34-28 Alamosa lead at the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter started with a Gutierrez layup, but Pfohl made two free throws. Rice made the Mean Moose’s only 3-pointer of the game, and Garcia and Gutierrez both scored to give Alamosa a 43-32 advantage.

Harris ended the run with a jumper, and Sigg split at the line. Rothermich also made one of two free throws, and Gutierrez drove for a layup to give the Mean Moose a 46-35 lead.

Pfohl made two free throws, but Rice split at the line. Pfohl ended the scoring with a layup.

Garcia led Alamosa in scoring with 16 points, followed by Gutierrez with 10.

Pfohl was the Spartans’ top scorer with 18.

The Great 8 is next

Alamosa (18-6) will face top-ranked University in the state tournament quarterfinals. Tip-off at the Denver Coliseum is at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

This will be the second time the Mean Moose and Bulldogs will meet this season. The last time was on Dec. 13 at the University Invitational, which was won by the Bulldogs, 59-39.

“We’re looking forward to that,” Romero said. “University’s a great program. They do a really good job with everything. They have a great coach and great kids. So we’re excited about the opportunity to have great competition at the state level.

Should the Mean Moose win, they will play either Holy Family or Sterling on Friday. A loss will end the season.

Alamosa 40, Wellington 24

Wellington – Essay 2 0-0 5, Jones 2 1-2 6, T. Morgan 1 2-4 5, Jacquez 0 0-0 0. Lopez 2 0-2 4, L. Morgan 1 2-2 4, Hock 0 0-0 0. Total 8 4-10 24.

3-point goals – Essay 1, Jones 1, L. Morgan 1, T. Morgan 1. Total 4.

Alamosa – Gutierrez 2 0-0 4, Knorr 2 3-4 8, Garcia 4 2-2 10, Rice 1 1-6 4, Rothermich 2 0-0 4, Quintana 0 0-0 0, Motz 0 0-0 0, Felix 1 4-7 6, Moeller 0 0-0 0, Schrader 2 0-0 4, Cantu 0 0-0 0, Holman 0 0-0 0. Total 14 10-19 40.

3-point goals – Knorr 1, Rice 1. Total 2.

Wellington 6 7 5 6 – 24

Alamosa 10 12 10 8 – 40

Fouls – Wellington 19, Alamosa 10. Fouled out – L. Morgan.

Alamosa 47, Berthoud 39

Berthoud – Diller 0 0-0 0, Pfohl 4 7-7 18, Galindo 0 0-0 0, Sigg 2 7-8 11, Harris 4 1-2 9, Botkin 0 0-0 0, Fitzgerald 0 0-0 0, Riffell 0 1-2 1, Bronkman 0 0-0 0. Total 10 16-19 39.

3-point goals – Pfohl 3. Total 3.

Alamosa – Gutierrez 5 0-0 10, Knorr 0 1-2 1, Garcia 8 0-1 16, Rice 1 4-6 7, Rothermich 2 5-10 7, Quintana 0 0-0 0, Felix 1 2-8 4, Schrader 0 0-0 0, Holman 0 0-0 0. Total 17 12-27 47.

3-point goals – Rice 1. Total 1.

Berthoud 10 12 6 11 – 39

Alamosa 6 11 17 13 – 47

Fouls – Berthoud 24, Alamosa 20. Fouled out – Galindo, Felix, Knorr.