"It's been an honor playing on this team," Bears senior guard Robin Jones said. "I think it's been like 30 years since an Estancia (girls) team made it to state (beyond the first round or a post-district regional matchup). That's pretty good."

The plucky 2009-10 Bears, the seventh seed, were eliminated in a Class 2A state quarterfinals game as the result of a 54-23 rout by No. 2 Santa Rosa (27-3), which had beaten EHS 63-18 in an early season contest at the Lions' gym on Jan. 5. The concluding loss followed Estancia's undefeated run through its District 8-2A regular-season and tournament schedules and a victory at home over Eunice in the state competition's round of 16 Friday.

"I think Estancia has improved a bunch," Santa Rosa coach Joseph Esquibel said. "But we had a good defense. We held them to one point (two according to the Telegraph's score book) in the third quarter. We didn't take them for granted. They're one of the top eight teams in the (class), so we couldn't overlook them."

Bears coach Ernest Renteria nodded his head in agreement when asked if the Lions probably changed their defense to combat the rise of EHS junior guard Desirae Ortiz as a prolific threat from beyond the arc.

"I wasn't expecting a man-to-man from them," Renteria said. "I thought they'd play zone. They've been a zone team. But Santa Rosa is just a good team."

The Bears (18-7) held the Lions to 10 points in the first quarter with their usual frenzied defense, but Estancia never got on track offensively itself. For the game, the Bears shot 6-of-44 (13.6 percent) from the floor.

In addition, a trapping defense, in which Santa Rosa would double- and triple-team the ball handler, especially at midcourt, forced several turnovers. And the Lions had success posting up its smaller counterparts.

Santa Rosa had a 30-11 lead at halftime and expanded its advantage to 50-13 by the end of the third. The fourth quarter was played almost entirely by subs from both teams.

The Lions were led by 15 points from Ashley Chavez. Estancia's scorers, per the official book, included Ortiz (six points), Shawna Blaisure (five), Jones (five), Haley Coburn (two), Erin Thomas (two), Rachel Ness (one), Tori Crider (one) and Aylissa Lujan (one).

Renteria will lose to graduation the services of Haley Coburn, Ashley Lopez and Jones.

"It's been a great season," he said. "They're great kids."

The Bears' state first-round game was an entirely different story. Ortiz, Torrance County's modern day equivalent to the sharpshooter Annie Oakley, hit the bull's-eye time and again as she poured in eight 3-pointers and a game-high 28 points to lead Estancia to a 60-48 win over Eunice (10-13).

Ortiz, after sinking her first trey with 6:49 to go in the first quarter, just kept bombing away. She arched in two more in the first quarter, and added two in the second quarter and two more in the third, the last one from the deep right corner with 15 seconds to go in the third to give her team a 53-39 advantage.

Ortiz only missed a couple times from long range. Each time she shot, the crowd would hold their collective breath and then, when the ball swished through the net, would exhale with a delirious cheer that was tinged with joyful amazement.

"It was a way better feeling than the Bosque game (when she scored four 3s in a district matchup Feb. 2)," she said. "I think I put up a lot more attempts this time. I'd shoot it if I was open, and if I wasn't, I'd pass it."

The Cardinals were on their heels from the get-go. Estancia, with Thomas setting the example, mercilessly attacked their opponents like slavering junkyard dogs and took a 22-7 lead in the first quarter.

The Bears led 38-23 at the half.

Despite the cushion, Renteria took a gamble by leaving Blaisure, his post, on the floor even when she was in a bit of foul trouble with three fouls in the second quarter and after she got her fourth in the third.

"I've depended on her all year," the coach said "She's no good to me out of the game. And she's a smart kid."

The coach said even his wife, Estancia Municipal School District Superintendent Carolyn Allen-Renteria, suggested that maybe he should save Blaisure, just in case.

"But I said, 'No way am I taking her out,'" the stout-hearted husband said. "Maybe take her out for a breather, but not totally out of the game."

Besides Ortiz, the Bears' producers were Thomas (11 points), Blaisure (eight), Ness (seven) and Coburn (six).

Estancia boys

Hagerman (24-4), which subsequently was allotted the No. 2 seed in the state quarterfinals, defeated Estancia 68-56 in a first-round game at the Bobcats' campus Saturday. The Bears' season thus ended with a record of 15-11.

"We were down 23 points in the first half," McCaskill said. "We had a lot of turnovers in the first quarter. But we cut it to four. We cut down on the turnovers, and we were more aggressive on defense."

EHS senior Jorge Quintana scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, the coach said.

The goal next year: make it to the state quarterfinals.

"Other than the two seniors (Tim Sedillo and Vince Alvarado) we lost at midseason because of injuries, we'll lose three, Jorge, Noah Sedillo and Donald Kimmel," McCaskill said. "That's not as bad as the 13 that graduated about three years ago."